WEBVTT 00:01.200 --> 00:03.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "NewsHour." 00:03.366 --> 00:06.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The Biden White House is issuing a rule designed to close a gap that allows gun buyers to avoid 00:06.700 --> 00:11.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% background checks. Officials are touting the move to end the so-called gun show loophole, 00:13.700 --> 00:17.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% one of the most significant steps to crack down on unlicensed dealers in decades. 00:19.233 --> 00:21.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The rule requires background checks on buyers when dealers sell guns at gun shows, 00:21.833 --> 00:26.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% flea markets, social media or other places outside of brick-and-mortar stores. 00:28.266 --> 00:30.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Attorney General Merrick Garland today praised the effort. 00:30.400 --> 00:34.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. Attorney General: Under this regulation, it will not matter if guns 00:34.833 --> 00:39.800 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% are sold on the Internet, at a gun show or at a brick-and-mortar store. If you sell 00:42.100 --> 00:46.033 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% guns predominantly to earn a profit, you must be licensed and you must conduct background checks. 00:49.266 --> 00:53.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% This regulation is a historic step in the Justice 00:53.300 --> 00:58.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Department's fight against gun violence. It will save lives. 01:00.133 --> 01:01.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% GEOFF BENNETT: We're joined now by Kris Brown, president of Brady, 01:01.933 --> 01:04.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% the nation's oldest gun violence prevention group. 01:04.666 --> 01:06.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Thanks so much for coming in. We appreciate it. 01:06.666 --> 01:08.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KRIS BROWN, President, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: Thanks for having me. 01:08.733 --> 01:11.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: So, gun show sellers and online vendors have been subject to much 01:11.600 --> 01:16.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% looser federal regulation than vendors who sell from brick-and-mortar stores. 01:16.200 --> 01:21.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% How did we arrive at this two-tier system and what's been the effect of it? 01:21.066 --> 01:24.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KRIS BROWN: The effect is individuals who are dying in this country at the 01:24.533 --> 01:29.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% hands of killers who have far too easy access to firearms. 01:31.600 --> 01:35.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% How did it happen? Because, when the Brady law was enacted in 1993, there wasn't this 01:37.400 --> 01:40.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% thing we call the Internet and gun shows weren't big business. Fast-forward to today, 01:42.366 --> 01:46.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% all of these years later, and they are, right? The way that the Brady 01:46.133 --> 01:51.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% law was worded was really focused on brick-and-mortar dealers of firearms. 01:53.200 --> 01:57.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% As a result of the proliferation of gun shows and Internet sales, estimates show about one in five 01:59.533 --> 02:03.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% guns sold today are sold with no background check at all. This new rule, which was issued 02:06.500 --> 02:11.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% pursuant to the bipartisan Safer Communities Act -- so Congress told ATF to issue this rule. 02:13.833 --> 02:16.933 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% They didn't do it just sua sponte, of nothing, OK? And 15 Republican senators voted yes on that bill, 02:19.100 --> 02:24.100 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% says that anyone who is actually in the business of selling firearms anywhere, 02:26.466 --> 02:30.133 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% whether it's at a gun show, whether it's over the Internet, has to be a licensed seller. And this 02:32.266 --> 02:36.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% will significantly increase the safety and the efficacy of the Brady background check system. 02:37.500 --> 02:39.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: So this rule will be in effect in 30 days. 02:39.866 --> 02:41.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% KRIS BROWN: Correct. 02:41.966 --> 02:43.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: And the White House says that more than 20,000 individuals involved 02:43.633 --> 02:47.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% in unlicensed dealings could be affected by these changes. 02:47.100 --> 02:51.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% In real terms, what's the impact of that, 20,000 individuals? 02:51.133 --> 02:54.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KRIS BROWN: Well, actually, what they're talking about is 20,000 sellers. 02:54.566 --> 02:59.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So let's keep in mind that many of these sellers who are selling today at gun shows 03:01.366 --> 03:04.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% or on the Internet may not be selling one or two or three or four. They may 03:04.933 --> 03:09.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% be selling many firearms. In fact, what the White House noted in its talking points is, 03:11.900 --> 03:16.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% these unlicensed sales studies show, and ATF has data recently, a huge proportion of the 03:18.500 --> 03:23.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% trafficked firearms that we find committed in crimes come from these unlicensed sellers. 03:26.466 --> 03:31.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So the lifesaving potential is huge. Again, hearkening back, one in five guns sold today, 20 03:33.833 --> 03:37.500 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% percent of firearms, and millions are sold, right, are now potentially subject to this rule. What's 03:39.800 --> 03:44.800 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% left undone is a universal background check. We still advocate that. And what would that mean? 03:46.900 --> 03:51.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% That means, any time you ever do a transfer of a firearm, a background check happens. 03:54.100 --> 03:58.500 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% This rule focuses on the commercial sale. We want to ensure that it's a universal check. 04:00.933 --> 04:03.500 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% GEOFF BENNETT: Well, gun rights advocates say that this rule and expanded background checks will put 04:03.500 --> 04:08.266 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% onerous restrictions on law-abiding citizens and won't actually stop criminals from getting guns. 04:08.266 --> 04:11.666 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Here's what Erich Pratt -- he's the senior vice president of Gun Owners 04:11.666 --> 04:14.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% of America. Here's what he told us earlier today. 04:14.966 --> 04:16.833 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% ERICH PRATT, Senior Vice President, Gun Owners of America: This is a restriction 04:16.833 --> 04:20.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the Second Amendment. It's not going to make people safer. This rule will 04:20.666 --> 04:24.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% not stop bad guys from getting weapons, for starters. You don't 04:24.500 --> 04:29.500 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% punish good people or restrict their rights because of what bad guys do. 04:31.466 --> 04:33.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: So, what about that, that the overwhelming number of criminals rely 04:33.866 --> 04:38.366 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% on illegal purchases, either from the black market or from straw purchases? 04:38.366 --> 04:43.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% KRIS BROWN: Well, first of all, 15 members of the United States Senate who are Republicans, 04:43.200 --> 04:48.200 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% including John Cornyn from Texas, said that this exact law that was 04:50.300 --> 04:54.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% passed that ATF has now adopted here in this regulation struck the right 04:54.800 --> 04:58.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% balance and isn't infringing on people's Second Amendment rights. 04:58.033 --> 05:00.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So I would push back that anyone's Second Amendment rights are actually 05:00.933 --> 05:05.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% infringed upon here. And looking at the rule and the details behind it, 05:07.633 --> 05:11.133 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% we have traffickers and sales that are illegal happening today. And the 05:13.266 --> 05:18.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% harm that's being meted out is on victims of gun violence who are being killed because we 05:20.433 --> 05:24.933 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% allow people who are felons or domestic abusers to easily access guns through this loophole. 05:27.666 --> 05:29.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Today, that is being closed, 05:29.600 --> 05:34.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and we think the balancing to save lives is the right kind of balance to make. 05:35.900 --> 05:37.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: As you mentioned, the Biden administration found a 05:37.666 --> 05:39.733 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% provision in existing law to get this rule done. They're basically 05:39.733 --> 05:44.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% doing a work-around around Congress because of congressional Republicans, 05:44.033 --> 05:48.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for the most part, and a couple of Democrats who have blocked universal background checks. 05:48.533 --> 05:51.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Are there any other novel ways you think this 05:51.700 --> 05:55.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% administration could push forward gun safety policy? 05:55.400 --> 05:57.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% KRIS BROWN: Look, I think this administration 05:57.233 --> 06:01.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% has gone about as far as you can go without congressional action. 06:01.666 --> 06:05.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% I think there are additional things that the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, 06:05.333 --> 06:10.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% which President Biden created, under the auspice of Vice President Harris, is doing, 06:12.400 --> 06:16.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% a whole-of-government approach, for example, thinking through how we procure firearms in 06:18.166 --> 06:22.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% this country, and making sure that any federal or state agency that is procuring firearms is 06:24.400 --> 06:27.266 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% only purchasing them from dealers who don't have a single crime gun associated with their business. 06:29.133 --> 06:32.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% There are many things like that that this administration is looking at, 06:32.033 --> 06:37.033 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% and it can do. But if we, as Americans, want to ensure that every single gun sale is subject to 06:39.033 --> 06:43.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% a background check, we're going to have to think about this in this next election 06:43.133 --> 06:48.133 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% and make sure we make that a priority, because only that authority can be provided by Congress. 06:49.200 --> 06:51.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GEOFF BENNETT: Kris Brown of Brady, 06:51.066 --> 06:52.466 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% thanks so much for your time and for your insights. We appreciate it. 06:52.466 --> 06:57.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% KRIS BROWN: Thank you. Thanks for having me.