Rep. Dean Phillips announced today that he has co-sponsored his second bill, H.R.8, which would require universal background checks on all gun sales -- a policy supported by over 90% of Americans, including the vast majority of gun owners like Rep. Phillips himself.

“This is not a partisan issue,” said Phillips. “In fact, the vast majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans support universal background checks on gun sales. Passing H.R. 8 won’t end our gun violence crisis, but it is an important first step, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to join us in advancing this long overdue legislation.”

Rep. Mike Thompson of California authored the bipartisan bill, which also has the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who nearly lost her life in a shooting eight years ago today, joined lawmakers in introducing the bill today. Last month, Rep. Thompson announced that Rep. Phillips joined his Gun Violence Prevention Task Force for the 116th Congress.

“Thoughts and tweets don’t save lives; courageous action saves lives,” said Phillips. “I am committed to advancing common sense solutions to address our nation's gun violence epidemic. I look forward to partnering with my colleagues on the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to do just that.”

The first bill cosponsored by Rep. Phillips is H.R.1, The For the People Act, a sweeping reform bill aimed in part at reducing the influence of special interest money in politics that has prevented common sense solutions like universal background checks from moving forward in the past.

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