Time To Close Gun Law Loopholes

There's a huge loophole in the gun laws in the United States, and it doesn't concern the right of American's to own guns (which is guaranteed by the United States Constitution). It concerns the sale of guns to people that United States law says should not be able to purchase a gun -- a restriction that has been upheld by the Supreme Court. The law says that those who have been convicted of a crime and those mentally ill persons who have been deemed a danger to others are not allowed to purchase or own a firearm.

This is a good law, and even most gun owners agree with it. It is just too big a danger to the American public to allow firearms to get into the hands of the above-named groups. But the sad state of the current gun laws allow people to buy guns by going around the background check protections. It is not the licensed dealers that are the problem. They must perform background checks by law, and most of them obey the law.

The real problem comes when those without a firearm sales license wants to sell one or more guns. These people can sell guns (at a gun show or privately) without doing any kind of background check at all -- and this is currently legal. It should not be legal because it poses a danger to the public, and incidentally, is also unfair to licensed dealers who follow the law.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida), who was recently selected to head the Democratic National Committee, wants to close this glaring loophole in the gun laws. She is introducing a bill which would require a background check on all gun sales, whether commercial or private. Private gun sellers would have to go to a licensed gun dealer or a law enforcement office and get a background check done before selling any gun to anyone.

This law would not restrict the right of any citizen to lawfully own a firearm, but I'm sure it will probably be opposed by the NRA (since they oppose all gun laws and regulations, whether they would infringe on gun owner's rights or not). But recent polls have shown that most Americans, including most gun owners, would approve of this kind of law. I hope it is able to get past the Republican obstructionists in the House of Representatives.

The Florida representative said, "It is outrageous that gun buyers evade the background-check system every day, even in broad daylight. While we likely cannot end all gun violence, we certainly can do much, much better. We have laws on the books designed to keep guns out of the hands of those that should not have them. We just need to close the loopholes and improve the information available to law enforcement."

She's absolutely right, and I wish her luck in shepherding this bill through Congress. There is no legitimate reason for selling any gun to any person without a background check.