Biden administration proposes to close loophole on background checks

jeffw@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 189 points – Biden administration proposes to close loophole on background checks
politico.com

The DOJ proposal comes days after the latest series of mass shootings.

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Summarized article created by Google's Bard:

"The Biden administration has proposed a new rule that would expand background checks for gun purchases. The rule would clarify who qualifies as a firearms dealer and require them to conduct background checks on gun buyers. The rule is expected to be met with opposition from gun rights groups, but gun safety groups have welcomed the proposal.

Here are the key points of the rule:

The rule would define a firearms dealer as someone who "engages in the business of selling firearms."
The rule would require firearms dealers to obtain a license and conduct background checks on all gun buyers.
The rule would not apply to people who sell a gun only once or twice a year, or if they sell a gun to a family member or close friend.

The rule is expected to go into effect after a 90-day public comment period."

Sounds like a step in the right direction

An incredibly tiny, performative, baby step away from a madman with a gun that absolutely isn't enough.

It's looks like it's just turning the "gun show loophole" into the "this person is my close friend" loophole because apparently having to wait for a background check to clear before transferring a firearm to someone is a tragedy the pro-gun community simply couldn't bear.

Other countries just have firearm licensing and registration. If someone has a license, they've inherently cleared any background checks, training and waiting periods. If someone can't produce a firearm that's registered to them, they've either lost it or illegally sold it, both of which need to be harshly punished.

But nobody arms criminals, abusive partners and mass murderers quite as enthusiastically as legal gun owners, so I'm sure they'll be along any moment to spin us elaborate hypotheticals about some poor, innocent gun owner who might be inconvenienced by this change -- something apparently worse than decades of mass shootings.

Gun nuts howl "oppression" if you dare mention licensing. "It's 1984!"