A bipartisan group in the U.S. House is urging Congress to pass strong national gun laws before it’s too late.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D, wants Congress to start sifting through their backlog of pending gun control legislation to keep the country from becoming as violent as it was in the 1990s.

“Congress needs to pass strong national gun laws to reduce gun violence before it escalates, as gun violence did in the 1980s and 1990s,” said Holmes Norton in a statement. “The District of Columbia has enacted strong, sensible gun violence prevention laws, but their effectiveness is being undermined by weak federal guns laws and permissive laws in surrounding states.”

Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill, was also pushing stronger gun laws and proposed a 20-year federal prison sentence for anyone who sold guns to a prohibited possessor. Kelly says this law would make gun trafficking a federal crime and give federal agencies the teeth they need to address it.

“Every gun used in a crime was first obtained legally and then found its way into criminals’ hands through unlawful activity such as straw purchases and theft,” said Kelly. “Making gun trafficking a federal crime is a common sense measure that provides law enforcement the tools needed to effectively address our national epidemic of gun violence and gun crime.”

Gun control advocates like Mark Kelly, co-founder of American for Responsible Solutions, lauded the new proposals and were reassured that stricter laws would stop criminals from committing crimes.

“Once again, leaders from both parties in the House of Representatives have come together behind a commonsense proposal that would help keep guns out of the wrong hands and make our communities safer places to live,” said Mark Kelly.

A video from 2011 where Norton is discussing a similar bill targeting gun trafficking.

(This article was a submission from freelance writer Brent Rogers)