Veasey Demands a Vote on Sensible Gun Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33, released the following statement after joining House Democrats' discharge petition to force a vote on the ‘Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists' Act:

"House Republicans voted three times last week to block the House from debating H.R. 1076, Republican Congressman Peter King's 'Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists' Act. Today, I joined my House Democratic colleagues in support of a discharge petition to force a vote on commonsense and bipartisan legislation that will keep guns out of the hands of terrorists. This disgraceful loophole currently allows a suspected terrorist on the FBI's Terrorist Watchlist to enter a store and leave with a dangerous weapon. If an individual is too dangerous to fly, then they are also too dangerous to own a gun.

According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, since 2004, more than 2,000 suspects on the FBI's Terrorist Watchlist have successfully purchased weapons in the United States. More than 90 percent of all suspected terrorists who attempted to purchase guns in the last 11 years walked away with the weapon of their choice, with just 190 rejected because of their dangerous histories.

On Sunday evening, President Obama addressed the nation and asked Congress to support his mission to keep the American people safe. In the wake of the latest mass shooting in San Bernardino, I stand with President Obama in supporting sensible gun legislation. Too many American families have lost loved ones to gun violence and we should honor those lost by taking action to prevent future tragedies. It is time we enact reasonable legislation that keeps weapons out of the hands of dangerous criminals and review how easy it is for people to buy powerful assault weapons."