The American Solidarity Party on Firearms

 



The American Solidarity Party recognizes that firearms are uniquely effective tools for both legitimate uses (such as hunting and personal protection) and illegitimate uses (such as criminal homicide and suicide). We also acknowledge that our country has both a long history of private firearm ownership and a current problem of gun violence, and that the root causes of such violence go deeper than access to firearms. We believe that regulations and policies surrounding firearms must be evidence-based and balance the interests of public safety and individual rights.

We support strengthening the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by fully funding it and expanding its capacity to process all background check requests within a 72-hour period.  State and Federal agencies must also report all relevant information to NICS in a timely manner.

We support the standardization of criminal definitions across federal and state agencies to prevent misreporting information to NICS

We call for states to offer free classes in safe firearm handling and storage, and to make them widely available to all residents; this includes age-appropriate firearm-safety education in public schools.  We also support safe-storage laws with the provision of storage devices to those who cannot readily afford them.

We support “must-issue” legislation for concealed carry permits.

We support a 72-hour waiting period for handgun purchases.

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