A new gun control bill from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia appears to be nothing more than a backdoor ban on all private firearm sales in the U.S.
Kaine’s proposed law, entitled the “Responsible Transfer of Firearms Act,” places a criminal federal liability on anyone who transfers a firearm to an individual prohibited from possessing one by federal law, according to a fact sheet provided by Kaine’s office. Under current law, federal firearms licensees (FFLs), by virtue of being required to conduct background checks, are assumed to know whether potential buyers are prohibited from possessing firearms based on the results of the required background checks. Kaine’s law would extend that assumption, and the criminal liability attached to it, to private individuals as well.
Sounds simple and uncontroversial, right?
Not really. The reason FFLs currently face criminal liability for unlawful transfers is that they’re mandated by law to conduct or confirmbackground checks on all firearms sales (even sales at gun shows). All interstate sales between private residents must also be processed through an FFL in the buyer’s home state, and that process must include a federal background check. Sales between two private, non-FFL individuals who reside in the same state are the only major category of firearms transfers that are exempt from federal background checks (the reason for that exemption is obvious: there’s no federal or interstate commerce nexus).
by Sean Davis
