Nine major law enforcement organizations today called for background checks for all firearms purchasers and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. The group, the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, has been working with state law enforcement associations and leaders this summer in key states, pressing for expanded background checks for firearms purchasers and other public safety measures. It said the Aurora theater shooting intensified their calls for timely action.
“The nation is waiting for lawmakers to move beyond hand-wringing and shoulder-shrugging in response to these mass catastrophes,” said Hubert Williams, chair of the partnership and President of the Police Foundation. “These mass murders are neither acceptable, nor inevitable.” The background check measure would complement the 1994 Brady Law, which established background checks for gun purchases at federally licensed gun dealers. An estimated 40 percent of firearm transactions occur through non-dealers sales. Other groups in the partnership are the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association, the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, and the Police Executive Research Forum.