Mike Levin: “November 30 was the eighth anniversary of the signing of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. The passage of that…”

“November 30 was the eighth anniversary of the signing of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. The passage of that legislation was a watershed event in the fight against gun violence. According to the Centers for Disease Control statistics cited by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, since the Brady Law went into effect, the number of gun deaths in the United States has dropped 27 percent, from 39,595 in 1993 to 28,874 in 1999. Even more dramatically, the number of gun homicides dropped by more than 40 percent from 18,253 in 1993 to 10,828 in 1999. While the Brady Law is not the only reason for the decrease, its impact on gun violence cannot be overlooked. Keeping guns out of criminal hands saves lives. The law's requirement that gun purchasers undergo a criminal background check before they can buy a firearm has stopped literally hundreds of thousands of criminals and others prohibited by law from purchasing a gun. The obvious success of the Brady Law should spur us to do more to stop gun violence. A logical step would be to extend the Brady Law's mandatory criminal background check provisions.”