Gun Control & RKBA

SecularMotion

(7,981 posts) Fri Mar 14, 2014, 01:21 PM Mar 2014

Sheriff David Mahoney: Private gun sales need background checks, too

For 20 years, our nation has had an effective tool that has helped keep guns out of the wrong hands. If you go to a federally licensed firearms dealer to buy a gun, the dealer completes a quick background check to ensure you’re not legally barred from owning a gun.

I know how smoothly this works because, in addition to serving as sheriff of Dane County, I am a federally licensed firearms dealer.

This system protects the rights of law-abiding citizens to own firearms while taking necessary steps to deny guns to those who may use them to commit crimes. In fact, since the federal Brady Law was enacted in 1994, background checks have prevented more than 2 million prohibited firearm purchases.

However, up to 40 percent of firearm purchases nationally take place between private parties where no background check is required under federal law. Imagine if we allowed 40 percent of passengers to board airplanes without undergoing any screening.

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/opinion/column/guest/sheriff-david-mahoney-private-gun-sales-need-background-checks-too/article_07cab5eb-814a-53fb-8ef5-9241a04f4311.html

6 replies

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Highlight:

Sheriff David Mahoney: Private gun sales need background checks, too (Original Post) SecularMotion Mar 2014 OP

It would help if federal law did not prohibit private sellers from doing the background checks. ManiacJoe Mar 2014 #1

+1 this can not be said enough clffrdjk Mar 2014 #2

Most 2A defenders here support opening NICS up to all... Eleanors38 Mar 2014 #3

Note that this is *also* a plea for corporate welfare: friendly_iconoclast Mar 2014 #4

There's that 40% figure again with zero attribution. Jenoch Mar 2014 #5

What Cook and Ludwick did not factor in gejohnston Mar 2014 #6

ManiacJoe

(10,136 posts)

1. It would help if federal law did not prohibit private sellers from doing the background checks.

Reply to SecularMotion (Original post)

Fri Mar 14, 2014, 04:08 PM

Mar 2014

clffrdjk

(905 posts)

2. +1 this can not be said enough

Reply to ManiacJoe (Reply #1)

Fri Mar 14, 2014, 05:09 PM

Mar 2014

Eleanors38

(18,318 posts)

3. Most 2A defenders here support opening NICS up to all...

Reply to ManiacJoe (Reply #1)

Fri Mar 14, 2014, 11:15 PM

Mar 2014

I would use it for any private sales, but cannot do so as stands now.

friendly_iconoclast

(15,333 posts)

4. Note that this is *also* a plea for corporate welfare:

Reply to SecularMotion (Original post)

Sat Mar 15, 2014, 05:01 AM

Mar 2014

I know how smoothly this works because, in addition to serving as sheriff of Dane County, I am a federally licensed firearms dealer.

Guess which group of people are currently the only ones allowed to do background checks?

Jenoch

(7,720 posts)

5. There's that 40% figure again with zero attribution.

Reply to SecularMotion (Original post)

Sat Mar 15, 2014, 06:30 PM

Mar 2014

It gets repeated so often that people think it's a real number.

gejohnston

(17,502 posts)

6. What Cook and Ludwick did not factor in

Reply to SecularMotion (Original post)

Sat Mar 15, 2014, 08:02 PM

Mar 2014

were states that had a licensing system like Illinois that requires private sellers to keep evidence that they checked the buyers FOID, states that have purchase permits for even private sales, like Michigan, Missouri, and maybe North Carolina (IIRC, only handguns). It also didn't factor in people who voluntarily had an FFL broker the sale.
http://www.factcheck.org/2013/03/guns-acquired-without-background-checks/

Also, it is a matter how the questions were worded. If the question was simply:where did you buy it? Cook and Ludwick would have equated gun show with non FFL, which is often not the case.

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