“The expansion of point-of-sale background checks allows the government to better ascertain the location of all guns in America by enlarging the paper trail on firearms.” Why does the government need to ascertain the location of all guns in America. And the owners.
A proposed rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will soon take effect, forcing many private gun sellers to use the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to sell their guns.
The targets of this rule are not licensed federal gun dealers, as they are already required to use the NICS on every gun sale and/or transfer.
Federal Firearms License (FFL) holders are required to conduct background checks on all gun sales and transfers because of the Brady Act (1993). That act created the NICS, and, since then, all retail sales of both new and used guns have been conducted via the NICS. Democrats have pushed to include private sales in the NICS requirement. However, Congress — even when controlled by Democrats — has refused.
By AWR Hawkins