Anonymous wrote:So why are gun advocates against universal background checks? Hiding something?
Anonymous wrote:DC area homeowner using his gun to protect his front yard from local ruffians. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/senior-navy-official-karnig-ohannessian-caught-on-camera-threatening-young-men-with-a-gun/
gun advocates so afraid of closing background check loopholes? Who do you think you're protecting?
gun advocates so afraid of closing background check loopholes? Who do you think you're protecting?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Why is a gun the only way to defend yourself? There are plenty of other options.
My husband was a baseball player and keeps a bat at the ready in our bedroom.
Who said gun is the only way to defend themselves? It's an effective way, but definitely not the only one.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Have you been to a gun show? I'm betting you haven't. Yes, you have background checks. Don't believe me, go to one and try to buy a gun.
You may want to check your facts.
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/safety-justice/gun-show-firearms-bankground-checks-state-laws-map.html
Known as the "gun show loophole," most states do not require background checks for firearms purchased at gun shows from private individuals -- federal law only requires licensed dealers to conduct checks.
Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, federal law clearly defined private sellers as anyone who sold no more than four firearms per year. But the 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act lifted that restriction and loosely defined private sellers as people who do not rely on gun sales as the principal way of obtaining their livelihood.
In fact only 11 states require background checks for all purchases, 7 states only require background checks for handgun sales. So 32 states have no requirements for background checks and 7 states allow purchases for non-handguns without background checks.
In addition, this isn't just a small problem. The sheer volume of purchases done "privately" is quite large:
http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/background-checks/universal-background-checks/
The most dangerous gap in federal firearms laws today is the “private sale” loophole. Although federal law requires licensed firearms dealers to perform background checks on prospective purchasers and maintain records of all gun sales, it does not require unlicensed “private” sellers to do so. An estimated 40% of all firearms transferred in the U.S. are transferred by unlicensed individuals.
[...]
According the U.S. Department of Justice, because federal law does not require universal background checks, “individuals prohibited by law from possessing guns can easily obtain them from private sellers and do so without any federal records of the transactions.” “The private-party gun market,” one study observed, “has long been recognized as a leading source of guns used in crimes.” Although the private sale loophole is frequently referred to as the “gun show” loophole (because of the particular problems associated with gun shows), it applies to all private firearm sales, regardless of where they occur.
The growth of the Internet has significantly increased the ability of individuals prohibited from possessing firearms to find sellers willing to transfer firearms to them without background checks.
As of September 2013, about 67,000 firearms were listed for sale online from private, unlicensed sellers.
29% of ads by private sellers on Armslist.com (a popular website for firearm sales) were posted by high-volume private sellers who posted five or more ads over an eight-week period.
According to an undercover investigation conducted by the City of New York, 62% of private online firearm sellers agreed to sell a firearm to a buyer even after the buyer had told the seller that he or she probably could not pass a background check.
This second article has a lot of additional information, such as how a huge volume of illegal gun activity is generated by the private sales loophole. By cutting off the private sales loophole, you will cut down significantly on criminal access to guns. Lawful gun owners can still get their guns via gun shops and gun shows with a background check, but you can cut down the sheer volume of guns going to criminals and illegal gun users.
Actually...the Brady Bill did just that, cut off the private and interstate sale of guns. It did nothing:
http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2003_spr/cook.htm
The Brady Bill had two iterations, Cook explained, but in each the law applies only to handgun sales by federally licensed gun dealers.
It did help suicides somewhat. The waiting period made people reconsider because of the extra day or to. Murders didn't decrease.
http://www.factcheck.org/2013/02/did-the-1994-assault-weapons-ban-work/
And most fundamentally, the authors wrote, “because the banned guns and magazines were never used in more than a fraction of all gun murders, even the maximum theoretically achievable preventive effect of the ban on gun murders is almost certainly too small to detect statistically with only one year of post-ban crime data.” The two later major studies of the ban included more years of analysis and concluded with an “updated assessment” that was published in 2004.
Title XI, Subtitle A of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 imposed a 10-year ban on the “manufacture, transfer, and possession” of certain semiautomatic firearms designated as assault weapons (AWs).
[...]
The ban also prohibits most ammunition feeding devices holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition (referred to as large capacity magazines, or LCMs). An LCM is arguably the most functionally important feature of most AWs, many of which have magazines holding 30 or more rounds. The LCM ban’s reach is broader than that of the AW ban because many non-banned semiautomatics accept LCMs. Approximately 18% of civilian-owned firearms and 21% of civilian-owned handguns were equipped with LCMs as of 1994.
[...]
AWs were used in only a small fraction of gun crimes prior to the ban: about 2% according to most studies and no more than 8%. Most of the AWs used in crime are assault pistols rather than assault rifles.
LCMs are used in crime much more often than AWs and accounted for 14% to 26% of guns used in crime prior to the ban.
AWs and other guns equipped with LCMs tend to account for a higher share of guns used in murders of police and mass public shootings, though such incidents are very rare.
[...]
Following implementation of the ban, the share of gun crimes involving AW declined by 17% to 72% across the localities examined for this study
[...]
The decline in the use of AWs has been due primarily to a reduction in the use of assault pistols (APs), which are used in crime more commonly than assault rifles (ARs). There has not been a clear decline in the use of ARs, though assessments are complicated by the rarity of crimes with these weapons and by substitution of post-ban rifles that are very similar to the banned AR models.
[...]
However, the decline in AW use was offset throughout at least the late 1990s by steady or rising use of other guns equipped with LCMs in jurisdictions studied (Baltimore, Milwaukee, Louisville, and Anchorage). The failure to reduce LCM use has likely been due to the immense stock of exempted pre-ban magazines, which has been enhanced by recent imports.
Anonymous wrote:AUGH! Why can't there be a rational discussion about gun control without the so called defenders of the Constitution scream about taking away their guns.
I just want something that makes it more difficult for people to get a gun. Everyone should have a license, mandatory background checks, eliminate automatic weapons, etc.
Anonymous wrote:Why is a gun the only way to defend yourself? There are plenty of other options.
My husband was a baseball player and keeps a bat at the ready in our bedroom.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Have you been to a gun show? I'm betting you haven't. Yes, you have background checks. Don't believe me, go to one and try to buy a gun.
You may want to check your facts.
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/safety-justice/gun-show-firearms-bankground-checks-state-laws-map.html
Known as the "gun show loophole," most states do not require background checks for firearms purchased at gun shows from private individuals -- federal law only requires licensed dealers to conduct checks.
Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, federal law clearly defined private sellers as anyone who sold no more than four firearms per year. But the 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act lifted that restriction and loosely defined private sellers as people who do not rely on gun sales as the principal way of obtaining their livelihood.
In fact only 11 states require background checks for all purchases, 7 states only require background checks for handgun sales. So 32 states have no requirements for background checks and 7 states allow purchases for non-handguns without background checks.
In addition, this isn't just a small problem. The sheer volume of purchases done "privately" is quite large:
http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/background-checks/universal-background-checks/
The most dangerous gap in federal firearms laws today is the “private sale” loophole. Although federal law requires licensed firearms dealers to perform background checks on prospective purchasers and maintain records of all gun sales, it does not require unlicensed “private” sellers to do so. An estimated 40% of all firearms transferred in the U.S. are transferred by unlicensed individuals.
[...]
According the U.S. Department of Justice, because federal law does not require universal background checks, “individuals prohibited by law from possessing guns can easily obtain them from private sellers and do so without any federal records of the transactions.” “The private-party gun market,” one study observed, “has long been recognized as a leading source of guns used in crimes.” Although the private sale loophole is frequently referred to as the “gun show” loophole (because of the particular problems associated with gun shows), it applies to all private firearm sales, regardless of where they occur.
The growth of the Internet has significantly increased the ability of individuals prohibited from possessing firearms to find sellers willing to transfer firearms to them without background checks.
As of September 2013, about 67,000 firearms were listed for sale online from private, unlicensed sellers.
29% of ads by private sellers on Armslist.com (a popular website for firearm sales) were posted by high-volume private sellers who posted five or more ads over an eight-week period.
According to an undercover investigation conducted by the City of New York, 62% of private online firearm sellers agreed to sell a firearm to a buyer even after the buyer had told the seller that he or she probably could not pass a background check.
This second article has a lot of additional information, such as how a huge volume of illegal gun activity is generated by the private sales loophole. By cutting off the private sales loophole, you will cut down significantly on criminal access to guns. Lawful gun owners can still get their guns via gun shops and gun shows with a background check, but you can cut down the sheer volume of guns going to criminals and illegal gun users.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP, I really would like for you to answer this question. Why do you feel this story is more significant than all of the accidental gun deaths...which occur daily? Seriously, please tell me why THIS is the gun story you chose to call our attention to.
PP, I really would like for you to answer this question. Why do you feel accidental gun death stories is more significant than all of the accidental car deaths...which occur far more frequently daily. Seriously, please tell me why THIS is the accidental death story you chose to call our attention to.
That is a stupid analogy and you know it. If half of the country were advocating for the right of every american to drive a car, without being accountable for that car, with no questions asked...then I would in fact be pointing out the senseless deaths where toddlers would be killing toddlers with cars on a regular basis.
It's not the same thing. We all agree that we shouldn't leave kids unattended in a car with the ignition running, even if we've attempted to teach tham car safety. But millions of Americans will leave them in a home with an unsecure g
You are aware there is no federal registry of car owners, right? Many states also does not require vehicle registration if the vehicle is only operated on private land. The title itself is most often a bearer document: it's not rendered invalid when transferred. So one private individual could sign the title over to another private individual without ever being required to let the state know of the transfer.
Yet we don't have a call on a federal car owner registry as a way to combat car accidents or vehicular crimes.
If my car is used in a crime, it will easily be traced back to me. I am held accountable for the car. I'm not going to sell my car to some dude without taking the proper steps to turn ownership over to him Because if that car is used in a crime, I will need to prove that I was no longer in possession of it.
After Sandy Hook, DH gave all his guns away. They were family heirlooms. He gave them to a relative who has a farm, and therefore has a need for a gun. But it seemed absurd to us that he had been in possession of those guns since middle school, but had no legal ties to them. If they were used in a crime, they could never be traced back to him. It was too easy to just hand them over in our driveway in a 30 second transaction.
Anonymous wrote:
Have you been to a gun show? I'm betting you haven't. Yes, you have background checks. Don't believe me, go to one and try to buy a gun.
Known as the "gun show loophole," most states do not require background checks for firearms purchased at gun shows from private individuals -- federal law only requires licensed dealers to conduct checks.
Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, federal law clearly defined private sellers as anyone who sold no more than four firearms per year. But the 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act lifted that restriction and loosely defined private sellers as people who do not rely on gun sales as the principal way of obtaining their livelihood.
The most dangerous gap in federal firearms laws today is the “private sale” loophole. Although federal law requires licensed firearms dealers to perform background checks on prospective purchasers and maintain records of all gun sales, it does not require unlicensed “private” sellers to do so. An estimated 40% of all firearms transferred in the U.S. are transferred by unlicensed individuals.
[...]
According the U.S. Department of Justice, because federal law does not require universal background checks, “individuals prohibited by law from possessing guns can easily obtain them from private sellers and do so without any federal records of the transactions.” “The private-party gun market,” one study observed, “has long been recognized as a leading source of guns used in crimes.” Although the private sale loophole is frequently referred to as the “gun show” loophole (because of the particular problems associated with gun shows), it applies to all private firearm sales, regardless of where they occur.
The growth of the Internet has significantly increased the ability of individuals prohibited from possessing firearms to find sellers willing to transfer firearms to them without background checks.
As of September 2013, about 67,000 firearms were listed for sale online from private, unlicensed sellers.
29% of ads by private sellers on Armslist.com (a popular website for firearm sales) were posted by high-volume private sellers who posted five or more ads over an eight-week period.
According to an undercover investigation conducted by the City of New York, 62% of private online firearm sellers agreed to sell a firearm to a buyer even after the buyer had told the seller that he or she probably could not pass a background check.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:AUGH! Why can't there be a rational discussion about gun control without the so called defenders of the Constitution scream about taking away their guns.
I just want something that makes it more difficult for people to get a gun. Everyone should have a license, mandatory background checks, eliminate automatic weapons, etc.
Ummm...they already have background checks. Automatic weapons are banned.
Not for all guns in all places.
If you go into a gun store, you will get a background check. End of story.
In every state for every gun? Gun shows? Private sales?
Have you been to a gun show? I'm betting you haven't. Yes, you have background checks. Don't believe me, go to one and try to buy a gun.