Rush Reintroduces Gun Legislation after Learning of 9-year-old's Shooting Death

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) reintroduced the Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2015 after learning of the shooting death of 9-year-old, Tyshawn Lee.

“Last night another Chicagoan lost his life to the city’s gun violence,” stated Rush. “Tyshawn’s life was cut short and we may never know why, but we must put an end to the plague of gun violence sweeping our communities. We are losing a generation to self-inflicted murder and mayhem.”

Blair’s bill would implement a federal system of licensing individuals who possess guns and a national gun registry to help law enforcement keep track of the flow of guns into communities. The of purpose of the bill would specifically:

1. Protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and negligent or reckless death associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of qualifying firearms to criminals and youths;
2. Ensure that owners of qualifying firearms are knowledgeable in the safe use, handling and storage of these firearms;
3. Restrict the availability of qualifying firearms to criminals, youth and other persons prohibited by Federal law from receiving firearms;
4. Facilitate the tracing of qualifying firearms used in crime by Federal and State Law enforcement agencies; and
5. Hold criminally and civilly liable those who distribute the transfer of qualifying firearms, causing risk of injury and negligent or reckless death associated with their transfer.

Rush also stated, “We are not powerless to end this community carnage. I plead with the younger generation to let us come together to work together to end this senseless violence in another way.”

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