Close ‘Loophole’ For Gun Background Checks, Officials Demand In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — What’s the common link between all tragedies caused by gun violence? A gun, the mayor of New Jersey’s largest city says.

On Monday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka joined U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz and local community activists to demand that federal officials close a “loophole” involving background checks for firearms.

Here’s the problem, according to Menendez:

“The background check loophole in federal law permits unlicensed gun sellers—those who are not ‘engaged in the business’ of dealing in firearms—to sell guns without conducting a background check on the purchaser. These sellers have, for decades, taken advantage of commercial marketplaces, like gun shows, to turn a profit by funneling firearms into the hands of convicted felons, domestic abusers, gun traffickers, and other prohibited persons. The internet—with websites like Armlist—has only expanded the no-background-check-required marketplace. For example, between 2018 and 2020, investigators from Everytown for Gun Safety collected over nine million posts on Armslist; 68-percent of the posts listed firearms for sales. Of those posts, 78-percent were by unlicensed sellers.”

The news conference took place after gunfire in Newark claimed three lives last week, including a young child. The city has seen four multiple shootings – each with at least one fatality – over the past month. Read More: Newark Sees 4th Multiple Shooting In A Month: 4 Shot, 1 Dead

Menendez and New Jersey’s other U.S. senator, Cory Booker, are among the Congress members who sent a letter about the loophole to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) this week.

In their letter, the lawmakers referenced the federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which President Joe Biden signed into law in June 2022.

According to the legislators, the BSCA contains several clauses that will help reduce gun violence in the United States, including federal penalties for straw purchasing and firearms trafficking, enhanced background checks for purchasers under 21 years of age, and barring people convicted of domestic violence from purchasing a gun.

The law also attempts to crack down on unlicensed gun sellers – which Biden pointed out in a March executive order that told federal agencies to kick their implementation of the law into high gear.

And that also applies to unlicensed gun sellers, Menendez, Booker and dozens of their senate peers insisted in their letter on Monday.

“Today, we write to highlight one directive in particular: the president’s clarion call to clarify the definition of who is ‘engaged in the business’ of dealing in firearms—a step that moves us closer to closing the background check loophole,” they stated.

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Ruiz, who represents the state’s 29th Legislative district – including Newark – said it’s “heartbreakingly evident” that more needs to be done to curb gun violence in this country.

“The least we can do is fully implement the protections signed into law almost a year ago,” Ruiz said.

Newark’s mayor also threw his support behind the effort.

“The common denominator in all gun violence is the presence of a gun,” Baraka said. “This is why I support the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that requires common-sense background checks and infuse our nation’s gun legislation with basic sanity.”

“I’m proud to stand with Senator Menendez in solidarity to call on the ATF to implement rules that will close the background check loophole and in gratitude for his continued work on gun violence prevention,” Baraka added.

The mayor said that the city has also been trying to push back against violence by approaching the problem as a public health issue, not just a policing issue.

“In Newark, we are applying the expertise of a comprehensive public safety ecosystem that addresses the wide-ranging causes and conditions of violence before they have a chance to erupt into events that further traumatize our community,” Baraka said.

Nonprofits, groups and community leaders across the city have been tapped in an attempt to address the root causes of violence, reaching out to local youth and holding peace marches across Newark. Meanwhile, city-employed social workers have graduated and taken the field alongside cops, a significant addition in an area where about one in four calls that police get are for “social intervention.”

“This important work makes inroads into our residents’ wellbeing and has brought our homicide rate to a 60-year low,” he added.

• See Related: Newark Saw Less Homicides And Violent Crime In 2022, Officials Say
• See Related: Newark Mom Lost 3 Sons To Violence. She's Helping Her City Fight Back

The Newark Community Street Team is among the local groups that have been pitching in for the city’s all-hands-on-deck approach.

The nonprofit’s executive director, Daamin Durden, said a $250 million wave of federal grant funding for violence intervention work unlocked by the BSCA will be a big boost to local groups that are fighting to stop future tragedies before they happen.

“The investment of this grant puts a spotlight on decades old strategies that have been utilized by community-based violence intervention agencies to keep Black and Brown communities safe, often overshadowed by organizations and institutions that are well funded,” Durden said.

“The Newark Community Street Team and our National Sister organization (the Community Based Public Safety Collective) have proven that when you intentionally put safety in the hands of the people, we see safer communities,” Durden said.

• See Related: Easing Violence, Building Trust Go Hand-In-Hand In Newark: Report

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