September 27, 2024 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08) have introduced bicameral legislation to prevent the federal government from contracting with federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) that have a documented history of selling a disproportionate number of guns that end up being used to commit violent crimes.

Existing federal law requires FFLs that have sold 25 or more guns over the course of a single year that are subsequently traced to violent crimes within the previous three years to submit a report to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) providing additional information on their sales practices under the Bureau’s Demand 2 program. The Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act would require ATF to identify the small number of FFLs that are consistently and dramatically overrepresented in criminal activity and render them ineligible for federal contracts.

“Far too often, lucrative federal contracts are inexplicably awarded to firearm dealers who have been linked to dangerous crime,” said Senator Padilla. “Our commonsense legislation aims to combat senseless, preventable gun violence by ensuring that gun dealers follow responsible business practices to keep guns from falling into the wrong hands.”

“With gun violence continuing to ravage America’s social contract and terrorize our communities, it is incumbent on Congress to act swiftly to pass common-sense gun safety policy like our Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act,” said Representative Raskin. “The federal government should not be giving lucrative federal contracts to the bad-apple gun dealers who are consistently selling firearms to people who use them in violent crimes or transfer them to people who use them in violent crimes. I’m immensely grateful to Senator Padilla for his great leadership on public safety and partnership in this vital effort.” 

“Each year, a significant number of crime guns with indicators of trafficking are traced back to a small percentage of American gun dealers,” said Mark Collins, Director of Federal Policy, for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “Taxpayer money should only be spent at responsible dealers that adopt safe business practices proven to prevent gun trafficking, and not at businesses that contribute to the American gun violence epidemic. The Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act will ensure that the small portion of dealers that supply crime guns do not have the privilege of doing business with the federal government, and that only responsible actors in the gun industry receive coveted federal procurement contracts. Brady thanks Representative Raskin and Senator Padilla for introducing this important bill and for their continued commitment to free America from gun violence.”

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are cosponsoring the legislation.

The ATF established the Demand 2 Program over two decades ago to improve its clearance rate for tracing firearms used in crimes. Crime gun tracing, administered by the National Tracing Center, establishes the chain of custody of firearms recovered by law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations, from their importer or manufacturer to their first retail purchase at an FFL, creating critical investigative links between a suspect and a recovered firearm.

Senator Padilla is a strong advocate for commonsense, life-saving gun safety reforms. In June 2022, Padilla voted to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The law is the most significant gun safety legislation in almost 30 years and helps to keep guns away from abusers, improve background checks, and increase state funding for the implementation of red flag laws. In 2023, Padilla joined 27 of his Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Keep Americans Safe Act, renewing efforts to ban the importation, sale, manufacturing, transfer, or possession of gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. He also joined Senator Blumenthal in introducing Ethan’s Law, which would require gun owners to safely and securely store their firearms, and he cosponsored Senator Edward J. Markey’s (D-Mass.) Protecting Kids from Gun Marketing Act, which would direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules that prohibit the marketing of firearms to children. He has joined multiple roundtables to discuss addressing gun violence in communities across California.

A one-pager on the bill is available here.

Full text of the bill is available here.
Source: Senator Alex Padilla