This week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8, a universal background check bill, and H.R. 1112, a bill to prolong the background check process. Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ-08) opposed both H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112 and released the following statement.

“Both Republicans and Democrats want to end gun violence in America. Unfortunately, the bills brought before us would not solve the problem, and instead could make millions of law-abiding citizens criminals. Under H.R. 8, a woman who is a victim of domestic violence with a protective order who borrows a gun from a neighbor to defend herself would be a criminal. Someone who is having suicidal thoughts and thinks they should hand their gun over to a friend would be committing a felony and their friend would be as well.

“H.R. 1112 unnecessarily delays the time before a law-abiding citizen can legally obtain a firearm. Delaying someone from getting their firearm, as this bill will do, could be a matter of life or death. In New Jersey, the application of a woman with a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend took longer than 40 days to process, and he stabbed her to death while she was waiting to protect herself legally. Delaying the process only makes people more vulnerable. These bills do nothing to address the true problem. I stand ready to work toward bipartisan solutions, but H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112 are not it.”