They Deserve a Vote

Mar 5, 2013 | By ThinkProgress War Room

New polling data released today shows overwhelming support for gun reform.  86% of Nevada residents want every gun buyer to pass a criminal background check.

Unfortunately, in the vast majority of states, it’s currently legal to buy a gun for cash with no background check and no questions asked. It’s time for Congress to recognize the will of the American people and fix our broken background check system.

Background checks save lives. In the fourteen states that already require background checks for all handgun sales the following facts are true:

• The rate of women murdered by an intimate partner with a gun is 38 percent lower.
• The firearm suicide rate is 49% lower.
• Gun trafficking is 48 percent lower.

Background Checks 101

Later this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up four gun violence prevention measures. One of them is an important bill to strengthen the background check system and mandate universal background checks so we can keep guns out of the hands of people that should not have them.

Check out this infographic for everything you need to know about how universal background checks can help us prevent gun violence.

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