Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025

Key Points

• This bill would require a background check for nearly every gun sale or transfer in the country. Currently, unlicensed private sellers can sell firearms without running a background check. Under this bill, private sellers would need to go through a licensed dealer who would run the check before completing the sale.
• The licensed dealer temporarily takes the gun and follows the same process used for any regular store sale, including the full background check. This closes the so-called "gun show loophole" and "private sale loophole" that allowed prohibited people to buy firearms without any screening.
• There are important exceptions for family members, emergencies, and certain activities. You can still give or loan a gun to a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew without a background check, as long as you have no reason to think they are prohibited from having one. Temporary loans at shooting ranges, during hunting, or to prevent imminent danger are also exempt.
• The bill explicitly prohibits the creation of a national firearms registry and preserves the ability of states to pass their own gun laws. This provision was included to address concerns from gun rights groups that universal background checks could be used to track gun ownership.
• If the bill becomes law, the new background check requirements would take effect 180 days (about six months) after signing, giving gun dealers and sellers time to adjust. Licensed dealers would also be required to provide both English and Spanish versions of the background check forms.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.