"closing the gun show loophole appears all but done"
Hahaha! That's cute, Goldy. Unfortunately itâs far from accurate as the âgun show loopholeâ was really a contrived and non-existent issue. The âloopholeâ was actually the sale of a firearm from one person to another, and had nothing to do with gun shows. So, if you were interested in one of my weapons and wanted to purchase one, you could simply pay me in cash and then I would give you my weapon and the deal would be completed. No background check required.
Hereâs whatâs changed: Nothing.
In order for this system of closing the private-sale âloopholeâ to actually be implemented and enforced, the government would need a system of gun registration or a receipt that a background check had been completed. A lot of you probably are not aware of this, but there is no gun registration out there, and registration is deeply unpopular. What I have in my closet is nobodyâs business. So, registration is a dead issue, and gun owners will not abide by rules to register their guns with the State or Feds. In fact, when the Washington County started asking people on their Concealed Handgun License forms what weapons they owned, it resulted in a local and federal law suit, thousands of angry phone calls, and a bunch of unhappy gun owners. Gun registration is a non-starter.
In a regular gun transaction from a store, you walk in, pick one you like, and then youâre asked to fill out a form called a â4473.â This is the form that serves as âbackground check formâ and as the receipt for the transaction. The form asks things like, âHave you ever been convicted of a felony?â along with another dozen questions in which most people answer âNo.â The receipt is not stored by the government, itâs saved by the gun dealer in their safe, for 5 to 10 years. The government doesnât keep a transaction history of background checks because itâs a 45-second process: Name, DOB, Address, and sometimes Social Security Number (SSN is voluntary). Adding a transaction log would slow down the process, and there would be no guarantee that the log would actually be completed accurately, thus a physical receipt would need to be sent to the seller and the purchaser. I highly doubt this would happen simply because of the costs involved.
Without a receipt of a background check, there would be no incentive to actually complete a background check, unless you were suspicious of the person you were selling to. I am a regular buyer and seller of firearms, I answer this dilemma by requiring my buyer to have a CHL. If they donât have a CHL, and I donât know the person, itâs a no-deal.
What would actually be useful is if there was a 1-888 phone number I could call and give someone a name, address, and DOB to see if anything pops up, but even this would probably be a privacy violation. Further, even with this 1-888 number, thereâs no guarantee that the system would be accurate: my buyer could be lying to me, or I could be lying to this background check number to get a receipt.
Strengthening the existing background check system is highly desirable, as even felons and other convicted criminals regularly slip through.
Hereâs the real problem: people who think that government can actually do something effectively. People who think that passing new laws actually changes peopleâs behavior. Itâs all an illusion! Think about the drugs weâve all bought, those were entirely illegal and yet every reader here has smoked pot. The same principal applies to guns and any market: regardless of the laws, commerce will still happen if thereâs a market. Sorry folks, the government is going to fix nothing, yet again.
Meanwhile, when Obama fails to deliver yet another promise, retarded and delusional supporters will still give him praise, somehow finding fault in the âRepublicansâ even though Obama is exclusively responsible and has the full capability to enact whatever he wishes. Gitmo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Torture, wiretapping, bank fraud.....now letâs add âgun controlâ to the list. Iâm sure Obamaâs 3rd term will be his successful âGet it doneâ one - I mean, what else could he possibly be waiting for?
Hahaha! That's cute, Goldy. Unfortunately itâs far from accurate as the âgun show loopholeâ was really a contrived and non-existent issue. The âloopholeâ was actually the sale of a firearm from one person to another, and had nothing to do with gun shows. So, if you were interested in one of my weapons and wanted to purchase one, you could simply pay me in cash and then I would give you my weapon and the deal would be completed. No background check required.
Hereâs whatâs changed: Nothing.
In order for this system of closing the private-sale âloopholeâ to actually be implemented and enforced, the government would need a system of gun registration or a receipt that a background check had been completed. A lot of you probably are not aware of this, but there is no gun registration out there, and registration is deeply unpopular. What I have in my closet is nobodyâs business. So, registration is a dead issue, and gun owners will not abide by rules to register their guns with the State or Feds. In fact, when the Washington County started asking people on their Concealed Handgun License forms what weapons they owned, it resulted in a local and federal law suit, thousands of angry phone calls, and a bunch of unhappy gun owners. Gun registration is a non-starter.
In a regular gun transaction from a store, you walk in, pick one you like, and then youâre asked to fill out a form called a â4473.â This is the form that serves as âbackground check formâ and as the receipt for the transaction. The form asks things like, âHave you ever been convicted of a felony?â along with another dozen questions in which most people answer âNo.â The receipt is not stored by the government, itâs saved by the gun dealer in their safe, for 5 to 10 years. The government doesnât keep a transaction history of background checks because itâs a 45-second process: Name, DOB, Address, and sometimes Social Security Number (SSN is voluntary). Adding a transaction log would slow down the process, and there would be no guarantee that the log would actually be completed accurately, thus a physical receipt would need to be sent to the seller and the purchaser. I highly doubt this would happen simply because of the costs involved.
Without a receipt of a background check, there would be no incentive to actually complete a background check, unless you were suspicious of the person you were selling to. I am a regular buyer and seller of firearms, I answer this dilemma by requiring my buyer to have a CHL. If they donât have a CHL, and I donât know the person, itâs a no-deal.
What would actually be useful is if there was a 1-888 phone number I could call and give someone a name, address, and DOB to see if anything pops up, but even this would probably be a privacy violation. Further, even with this 1-888 number, thereâs no guarantee that the system would be accurate: my buyer could be lying to me, or I could be lying to this background check number to get a receipt.
Strengthening the existing background check system is highly desirable, as even felons and other convicted criminals regularly slip through.
Hereâs the real problem: people who think that government can actually do something effectively. People who think that passing new laws actually changes peopleâs behavior. Itâs all an illusion! Think about the drugs weâve all bought, those were entirely illegal and yet every reader here has smoked pot. The same principal applies to guns and any market: regardless of the laws, commerce will still happen if thereâs a market. Sorry folks, the government is going to fix nothing, yet again.
Meanwhile, when Obama fails to deliver yet another promise, retarded and delusional supporters will still give him praise, somehow finding fault in the âRepublicansâ even though Obama is exclusively responsible and has the full capability to enact whatever he wishes. Gitmo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Torture, wiretapping, bank fraud.....now letâs add âgun controlâ to the list. Iâm sure Obamaâs 3rd term will be his successful âGet it doneâ one - I mean, what else could he possibly be waiting for?