{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-submits-public-comment-in-support-of-doj-rule-to-expand-background-checks", "Murphy Submits Public Comment in Support of DOJ Rule to Expand Background Checks", "2023-12-07", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Christopher Murphy", "M001169", "www.murphy.senate.gov", "chrismurphy", "https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2013U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday submitted a public comment in support of the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) proposed new rule to specify the definition of \u201cengaged in the business\u201d as a dealer in firearms. Murphy\u2019s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act clarified the definition of who is \u201cengaged in the business\u201d of dealing in firearms as a person doing so with the intent to \u201cpredominately earn a profit.\u201d The proposed rule amends the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives\u2019 (ATF) regulations to conform with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, clarifying who must register as a federally licensed firearms dealer and conduct background checks on gun sales.\n\nThe public comment period ends today, and the rule is expected to be finalized sometime in the new year.\n\n\u201cI co-led a bipartisan group of members of Congress who negotiated the eventual legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in June 2022, which included changes to the statute that are the subject of the EITB NPRM. I write in strong support of the proposed rule, which will increase the efficacy of BSCA, strengthen our background check system, and keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who should not have them, exactly as Congress intended when it enacted BSCA,\u201d he wrote.\n\nMurphy highlighted the deadly toll of current loopholes in our background checks system, writing: \u201cUltimately, this resulted in countless firearms sales to persons who should not have had access to a gun, which sadly became a common and deadly occurrence. For example, one study in 2017 found that one in five gun sales occurred outside the background check system, predominantly carried out by individuals who did not believe they were engaged in the business of dealing firearms.\u201d\n\nMurphy, in his role as the lead Democratic negotiator, also made clear Congress\u2019 intent in passing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, noting: \u201cClearly, Congress meant something when it changed the definition of who was engaged in the business, and merely restating existing law seems inconsistent for the product of a bipartisan negotiation. I made public comments during the BSCA negotiations which helped clarify what that something was and which provided additional clarity about the tough negotiated outcome in BSCA: something substantially less than universal background checks, but something more than current law at the time.\u201d\n\nHe added: \u201cI am pleased to see the ATF propose a rule interpreting this section of the law as a direct result of BSCA negotiations. This rule is an important and necessary step to ensuring our background check system works as effectively as possible. Based on the text alone, it is plainly obvious that this NPRM aligns with our intent in BSCA.\u201d\n\nThe full text of the public comment can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-submits-public-comment-in-support-of-doj-rule-to-expand-background-checks"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6998709179461002, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}