Press Releases

Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) commended President Joe Biden and his administration for implementing improved background checks and tighter rules on the purchase of firearms, regulations required by the federal gun safety package Rep. Carbajal helped get signed into law in his previous term.

“This is a small but important fix to our nation’s background check system for deadly firearms – one that will ensure fewer guns are sold in America without a background check and help keep illegally acquired weapons off our streets,” said Rep. Carbajal. “I was proud to help implement these and other commonsense gun safety measures last term – and continue to work in Congress to build on that standard. I will not rest until we have enacted universal background checks, banned assault weapons, and ended gun violence in Ameria as we know it.”

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which passed Congress with the support of Rep. Carbajal and a bipartisan majority in June 2022, required the closing of the ‘gun-show loophole’ by ensuring anyone who sells a firearm – even in an informal setting like a flea market or trade show – has a license and conducts a required background check.

Rep. Carbajal was a co-sponsor and champion of legislation to close this loophole in federal background check law, which originally passed the House in 2019.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms projects this new rule will apply to tens of thousands of unlicensed gun sales each year. The regulation is expected to take effect in 30 days.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act included multiple other provisions to reduce gun deaths and keep American communities safe, including a proposal championed by Congressman Salud Carbajal to expand the use of ‘red flag’ laws.

The law set aside $750 million to assist states in creating and administering ‘red flag’ laws and other measures that can keep guns out of the hands of those who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.

This fund was championed by Congressman Carbajal since his first year in Congress through his Extreme Risk Order Protection Act. That bill was inspired by the 2014 mass shooting in Isla Vista, California nearby the campus of U.C. Santa Barbara, Rep. Carbajal’s alma mater.