WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Maine Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is praising the Biden administration for a new rule that aims to close a loophole and expand background checks on gun sales.
The rule finalized by the U.S. Department of Justice this week will require background checks on buyers when firearms are sold at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores.
It closes the so-called "gun show loophole" that has allowed tens of thousands of guns to be sold in the U.S. each year by unlicensed dealers without ensuring the buyer is allowed to legally own the weapon.
"This is one of those gun reforms that has been wildly supported by the public generally," Pingree told NEWS CENTER Maine. "People understand that there shouldn't be a loophole. There shouldn't be a time when someone who should go through a background check doesn't do it."
The announcement comes months after the state's deadliest mass shooting in Lewiston that claimed the lives of 18 people. The gunman, Robert Card, was known as a mental health risk by the Army and police, but his weapons were never taken away.
While Card's weapons were legally purchased, Pingree said the more safeguards in place to prevent firearms from getting into the hands of others experiencing a mental health crisis, the better.
"We were made very much aware of that with the Lewiston shooting that we want to know all we can if you're someone who shouldn't have a gun," Pingree said.
President Joe Biden said in a statement the rule would save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and felons.
"My Administration is going to continue to do everything we possibly can to save lives. Congress needs to finish the job and pass universal background checks legislation now," Biden said in a statement.
The National Rifle Association has called the move "unlawful." When asked about concerns among proud gun owners in Maine, Pingree said this is about "common sense."
"There's always people who say we shouldn't have any regulations related to guns," she said. "But I think something like the Lewiston shooting or concerns people have over individual suicides just reminds us that there are common sense gun protections that we can all support."
