Murphy reintroducing background check legislation after MSU shooting

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is reintroducing legislation to require background checks on all commercial gun purchases in the aftermath of the Michigan State University shooting that left three students dead.

Murphy has pushed for stronger gun control legislation throughout his time in Congress, and is now once again calling for mandatory background checks for every firearm sale.

If the measure became law, prospective gun buyers would need to undergo a background check for the sale or transfer of guns, including online sales, purchases at gun shows and through unlicensed sellers, according to the bill.

Murphy told Poppy Harlow on “CNN This Morning” that some states do not require background checks on online sales or during gun shows. He says the majority of “crime guns” used in states like New York and Connecticut are purchased from other states who do not have universal background checks.

“If you want to buy a gun, you just should have to prove that you’re not a criminal, that you’re not seriously mentally ill,” he said on Thursday. “The problem is, many states have chosen not to apply background checks to internet sales and sales at gun shows. That means the criminals know how to buy guns without being detected as a criminal.”

One day after a gunman killed 11 people at a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, Calif., Murphy and other Democrat senators introduced a pair of bills to ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and also to raise the age to buy assault weapons from 18 to 21.

Murphy told Harlow that passing more background check legislation will be an “uphill battle” with a Republican controlled House, but that GOP members may change their mind on the issue.

“A lot of Republicans are changing their mind because they actually realize that the gun lobby isn’t as powerful as it used to be,” he said. “So, yes, this looks like an uphill battle, especially with a Republican House. But a lot of people said that we weren’t going to be able to pass the bill we passed last year with red flag laws and bans on guns to domestic abusers. But we did because the issue is moving pretty fast.”

Congress passed a piece of gun control legislation last year that expanded background checks for people under 21 and closed the “boyfriend loophole,” meaning that those convicted of a misdemeanor crime of violence involving a current or former romantic partner cannot possess a firearm for at least five years.

Murphy said on Thursday that this marks a precedent for preventing those convicted of certain misdemeanors from obtaining a firearm, and that they should “take a look” at illegal gun possession misdemeanors.

The suspect connected with the Michigan State University shooting, Anthony McRae, previously had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor firearm charge in 2019.