Americans Want A Background Check On All Gun Sales

I don't support Bernie's run for the presidential nomination, but I really don't see how anyone can disagree with this statement of his. Currently, any terrorist, criminal, domestic abuser, or dangerously mentally ill person can legally buy any kind of gun they want (from a handgun to an assault weapon). They can do that because of the huge holes in our background check law.

The sad fact is that for at least 40% of gun sales in this country each year, no background check is required or performed. These exceptions include weapons purchased at gun shows, sales from one individual to another, and sales from the internet. All a terrorist or criminal has to do is avoid licensed gun dealers, and purchase their weapon of choice from one of the exceptions above -- and they can legally get any kind of firearm they want.

Is this really what we want? Do you want terrorists and criminals to be able to legally purchase firearms? Most Americans don't want that. In fact, an overwhelming majority of Americans (83%) don't want that (see chart below). They want the gaping holes in our background check law closed. They know that doing this will not affect the right of honest and law-abiding people to own a gun (or guns). They also know this would not be a violation of the Constitution's Second Amendment (since the Supreme Court has made that very clear).

So, why won't our politicians close the holes in the background check law? I used to think they were afraid of not being re-elected because the NRA would run ads against them. But how could that be true with such a large portion of the voting public supporting closing the holes? I think instead, these politicians are afraid they will lose the big campaign dollars they currently get from the NRA. They are putting their campaign donations above saving the lives of American citizens (and while closing the holes in the law wouldn't completely eradicate gun deaths, it would definitely reduce the number of those deaths).

We need to hold these greedy politicians accountable for thinking campaign donations are more important than saving lives. We need to vote them out of office -- regardless of which political party they are in.

The chart below was made from information in a recent Public Policy Polling survey -- done on July 20th and 21st of a random national sample of 1,087 voters, with a margin of error of 3 points.