Help Stop the Bills that Allow the FBI and ATF From Gaining Financial Information From Firearms Purchasers

House Bill 5764, sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), has been introduced and it's another government overreach. Along with its companion bill in the U.S. Senate, Senate Bill 3117 sponsored by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), "The Gun Violence Prevention Through Financial Intelligence Act of 2021" would require financial institutions to turn over information on firearms and accessory purchases to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for developing an advisory about the identification and reporting of suspicious activity.

The alleged intent of the bill is to study how “homegrown violent extremists” procure firearms and accessories for carrying “acts of terror” within the United States. Further, FinCEN is to study the ways in which the firearms market is “exploited” to facilitate gun violence.  How likely is it that this bill will be used as a tool to investigate more than "homegrown violent extremists"?  What exactly is a "homegrown violent extremist"? According to the legislation that definition won't be clearly presented until AFTER the bill has passed, and thus the bill's implementation is ripe for abuse. Even worse, the FBI and the ATF are wrapped into the enforcement of this bill as well.

A similar version of this bill has been beaten back before, so with a concerted effort gun rights supporters can do that again! Please utilize FPC's constituent outreach tool on this page, to reach out to your specific federal legislators in opposition to this legislation. FPC has drafted a sample email for you to review, edit, and personalize prior to sending it off to your elected officials.  Let's continue our outreach efforts and build on our momentum to stop this bill in its tracks.