sure glad the tweet provides so many details on edit: some details https://thehill.com/homenews/house/542704-house-approves-bill-tightening-background-checks-on-guns
Universal background checks have pretty big support but I'm surprised that some Republicans not only voted but co-sponsored the bills. I would've thought that the COVID-19 bill would've gotten some Republican support while these bills wouldn't have gotten any.
Correct, universal background checks have overwhelming public support, even within the republican party. The gun dealer loophole is more divisive. The challenge has been that mcconnell protected republican senators from having to vote on any bill. Now the senate will get a chance to vote. Its possible both bills lose... but like republican opposition to COVID-19 relief (and interesting that background checks has similar if not greater support than the relief bill), 2022 voters will have an opportunity to express displeasure with senators and congressmen that voted differently than the citizens want... https://morningconsult.com/2021/03/10/house-gun-legislation-background-checks-polling/
It's a logistical inconvenience for people selling guns to people the know or giving guns to their family members. I'm assuming it cost money unless you force all FFL to do them for free as part of doing business. That is it.
actually the problem with "universal background checks" as embodied in this current bill is that it makes private sellers have to go an FFL, with an accompanying fee and the inconvenience of requiring both parties to go to the FFL (twice if there's a waiting period) to effect the transfer. This is how the system supposedly works in New York state. Most private sellers I suspect ignore the law, which has virtually no way of being enforced. What would make "universal background checks" more palatable for many if not most gun owners would be an online database where the seller could do the background check directly--in effect doing what the FFL does at a gun shop--and for a minimal fee. Adding a $25 to $50 transfer fee to the sale, say, of a rifle that's only worth $125 makes the whole idea of "universal background checks" a nightmare in real life. This would still perhaps not be an ideal situation for some gun owners if they lack access either to smart phones or a computer.
I agree that the background check needs to be cheap or free. Like less than 5 dollars. I'm wouldn't be opposed to Voter ID either if IDs were free and super easy to get.
I was being too optimistic with my estimate of transfer fees being in the $25-50 range. Here is a NY gun shop that charges $90 (rifle) and $120 (handgun) per transfer: https://www.jerrysfirearms.com/transfers-fees I think many gun shops price their transfer fees this high to get out of being involved in the whole process.
One of the problems with getting background checks is that there has been resistance towards building a national database and even a computerized one. If that can be solved then it should be easier and cheaper to do background checks.
She fails to understand that the founding fathers didn’t draft the Second Amendment so everyone in this country could easily own firearms for personal use. It was drafted at a time in American history after the nation had just earned its independence from Great Britain less than a decade earlier, and America relied heavily on state militias in the Revolutionary War. The country didn’t have a large national military nor police departments at that point in its history.
Not just that. Electronic record is not allowed. Pen and paper in metal filing cabinets because 2a! This is like the Taliban banning music because new stuff is scary.
that's a regular firearms transfer--e.g., you order something off of gunbroker or from Bud's Gun Shop. These transfer fees are specifically aimed at private sellers trying to sell a firearm to a private buyer (independent of any gun shop). The NY law requires the transfer to be done in the presence of an FFL--which for the most part means a brick-and-mortar shop whose owner agrees to provide that service. Many gun shops do not--which is also part of the problem with how the NY law is written (and I've seen nothing to suggest the current House bill is written any differently). The practical effect of the law in some locations is to prevent people from selling their firearms.
