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Allyson Schwartz on Gun Control Democratic Representative (PA-13)

Voted NO on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers.

• Prohibit individuals from filing a qualified civil liability action
• Exempt lawsuits brought against individuals who knowingly transfer a firearm that will be used to commit a violent or drug-trafficking crime
• Exempt lawsuits against actions that result in death, physical injury or property damage due solely to a product defect
• Dismiss of all civil liability actions pending on the date of enactment
• Prohibit the manufacture, import, sale or delivery of armor piercing ammunition

Prevent unauthorized firearm use with "smart gun" technology.

Make America the “Safest Big Country” in the World
After climbing relentlessly for three decades, crime rates started to fall in the 1990s. Nonetheless, the public remains deeply concerned about the prevalence of gun violence, especially among juveniles, and Americans still avoid public spaces like downtown retail areas, parks, and even sports facilities.

We need to keep policing “smart” and community-friendly, prohibiting unjust and counterproductive tactics such as racial profiling; focus on preventing as well as punishing crime; pay attention to what happens to inmates and their families after sentencing; use mandatory testing and treatment to break the cycle of drugs and crime; and enforce and strengthen laws against unsafe or illegal guns. Moreover, we need a renewed commitment to equal justice for all, and we must reject a false choice between justice and safety.

Technology can help in many areas: giving police more information on criminal suspects so they do not rely on slipshod, random stop-and-search methods; allowing lower-cost supervision of people on probation or parole; and making it possible to disable and/or trace guns used by unauthorized persons.

Above all, we need to remember that public safety is the ultimate goal of crime policy. Until Americans feel safe enough to walk their neighborhood streets, enjoy public spaces, and send their children to school without fear of violence, we have not achieved public safety.

Goals for 2010
• Reduce violent crime rates another 25 percent.
• Cut the rate of repeat offenses in half.
• Develop and require “smart gun” technology to prevent use of firearms by unauthorized persons and implement sensible gun control measures.
• Ban racial profiling by police but encourage criminal targeting through better information on actual suspects.
• Require in-prison and post-prison drug testing and treatment of all drug offenders.

Close the Gun Show Loophole; restrict show sales.

Makes it unlawful for any person to operate a gun show unless such person:
1. has attained 21 years of age;
2. is not prohibited from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms and has not violated any federal firearms requirements;
3. has registered with the Attorney General as a gun show operator and has provided a photograph and fingerprints;
4. has not concealed material information nor made false statements in connection with a gun show operator registration; and
5. notifies the Attorney General of the date, time, and duration of a gun show not later than 30 days before the commencement of such show and verifies the identity of each vendor at the gun show.

Ban "fire sale" of firearms after delicensing closure.

The Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act makes it unlawful for:

• anyone whose federal license to import, manufacture, or deal in firearms has been revoked, or whose license renewal application has been denied, to transfer business inventory firearms into a personal collection or to an employee of such person or to receive a firearm that was a business inventory firearm as of the date of a revocation or renewal denial notice; and
• anyone who has received a license revocation or renewal denial notice to transfer to any other person a firearm that was a business inventory firearm.
• Imposes a fine and/or prison term of not more than one year (five years for willful violations) for violations of this Act.

Ban large-capacity ammunition.

Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act

• to prohibit the transfer or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, except for its lawful possession within the United States on or before the date of this Act's enactment; and
• the importation or bringing into the United States of such a device (with some exceptions).
• Identification Markings: Requires a large capacity ammunition feeding device manufactured after this Act's enactment to be identified by a serial number that clearly shows that the device was manufactured after enactment.
• Whoever knowingly violates this law shall be fined, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

Stricter regulation on gun show firearm sales.

Congressional Findings:

1. approximately 5,200 traditional gun shows are held annually across the United States, attracting thousands of attendees per show and hundreds of Federal firearms licensees and unlicensed firearms sellers; and
2. gun shows at which firearms are exhibited or offered for sale or exchange provide a convenient and centralized commercial location where criminals and other prohibited persons obtain firearms without background checks and without records that enable firearm tracing.

1. has attained 21 years of age;
2. is not prohibited from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms and has not violated any federal firearms requirements;
3. has registered as a gun show operator and has provided a photograph and fingerprints;
4. has not concealed material information nor made false statements in connection with a gun show operator registration; and
5. notifies the Attorney General of the date, time, and duration of a gun show not later than 30 days before the commencement of such show and verifies the identity of each vendor at the gun show.

• Imposes recordkeeping requirements on gun show operators and criminal penalties for failure to register as a gun show operator and maintain required records.
• Grants the authority to enter the business premises of any gun show operator, without a showing of reasonable cause or a warrant, to examine records and inventory to determine compliance with this Act.
• Increases criminal penalties for serious recordkeeping violations and violations of criminal background check requirements.
• Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to hire additional investigators to carry out inspections of gun shows.