WASHINGTON, D.C. –-(Ammoland.com)- AmmoLand News’ sources inside the U.S House of Representatives have confirmed Democrats are readying a push for so-called universal “enhanced” background checks. Dropping two related bills BackGround Check bills, both taking away your privacy and restricting your rights.
Bipartisan Background Checks Act (H.R. 8)
California Democrat Mike Thompson’s “Bipartisan Background Checks Act” (H.R. 8) would end the way private sales of firearms are handled in the majority of the country.
The bill would require a gun to be transferred to a licensed dealer before the gun can be sold to another private party. Democrats have long called this the “gun show loophole,” even though most gun buyers go through a background check at a gun show.
The bill exempts law enforcement, the military, and private security firms from the universal background requirements. Also, the transfer of firearms given as gifts between family members is exempt as long as the person transferring the gun doesn’t have a reason to believe the recipient is a prohibited person.
There is also an exception if the firearm transfer is temporary and is necessary to prevent “imminent death or great bodily harm.” Gun ranges are also exempt them from the proposed law allowing them to rent out guns to the general public. The sponsors of the bill claim that it will prevent criminals from getting firearms.
If universal background checks pass, it will artificially raise the age to buy a handgun across the country to 21.
We can see one example of this problem in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Commonwealth’s law states one only has to be 18 to purchase a pistol from a private sale. When Virginia enacted universal background checks, it prevented legal adults between 18 and 20 from buying a handgun from a private sale because licensed dealers can’t transfer a handgun to anyone under 21. A Virginia judge stuck down the universal background law for people between 18 and 20.
The same bill was submitted in 2019. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote to 240 to 190 with two members not voting.
Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021” (H.R. 1446)
The second bill is “Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021” (H.R. 1446). South Carolina Democrat Jim Clayborn has pushed this bill claiming that it would make background checks more effective. The bill would make dealers wait ten days for a response before they can petition to transfer a gun to a buyer if National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) doesn’t respond with an answer. Right now, the law states that the dealer must wait three days for a response before they can transfer the gun in place of an answer.
If NICS doesn’t answer, the buyer would have to now file a certified petition with the same information from the 4473 to get the firearm. The dealer will have to then wait an additional ten days on top of the time already waited by the buyer. The law doesn’t state when the buyer can file their petition.
Internal sources inside the FBI reports that the FBI destroys all records of delayed firearms sales within 90 days. Most of the time, the agency destroys the records on day 88. The majority of documents that are delayed more than three days are never checked by the law enforcement agency, which means changing the delay period doesn’t affect the public’s safety.
Gun rights advocates worry that this is just a way to create more hoops for gun buyers to jump through. They fear that roadblocks might discourage new gun buyers from exercising their Constitutional rights.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) told AmmoLand News that she would stand up to attempts to pass the bills. She states that H.R. 8 is a gun registry. The Congresswoman is staunchly pro-gun.
The Congresswoman told AmmoLand: “As I said on the campaign trail, I am OPPOSED to National Gun Registration (H.R.8) and will fight alongside my colleagues in the house to defeat this dangerous attack on our Second Amendment rights.”
In an effort to fast-track bills and shorten the window for public outcry, Congress has changed its schedule to meet on Monday, March 8th, 2021 with the week’s first votes at 6:30 p.m. The last votes of the week will occur on Thursday, March 11th. Then again on Tuesday, March 16th, with the first votes of the week at 6:30 p.m. The last votes of the week will occur on Friday, March 19th, 2021.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
Come on, keep nudging. The edge of the cliff isn’t far.
Isn’t it like the government to have their own exemptions for a law that only affects ordinary citizens?
Don’t ask me. USCitizen and dave399 will explain to you that they think everyone’s rights should be protected. Then USCitizen will gone on to explain why he believes LEOs get extra rights. He will not state that he believes LEOs should refrain from enforcing laws (from which they are exempt) against non-LEOs. dave399 will explain to you that any and all future laws, no matter how much they lead to totalitarianism, should be obeyed by non-LEOs and LEOs should enforce those laws when ordered to do so (so LEOs don’t have to face the specter of having to work in… Read more »
I realize I’m the guy who put the “b” in subtle, but do you really not see that I was being sarcastic? I put that statement in quotes because it is the type of thing LE leadership says to support politicians’ lies that are the basis for never-ending gun control.
JSNMGC . . . Jesus Christ, bud!
Scharf . . . If you are John Q. Citizen, you will either do what the government TELLS you to do or THEY WILL KILL YOU!!!
Michael – not a single one of the proposal – be they bills, resolutions or whatever specifically targets (pun intended) CRIMINALS but only infringes on Law Abiding Citizens and our rights.
Never mind that it is the crooks that are the ‘problem’ they are all claiming to be trying to solve.
This is just so they can get a name and address on everyone that has a weapon. I will never had my guns over to anyone.
Chooch – if you have ever bought a gun from an FFL they ALREADY have that info. At least for that time – if you have moved and kept a valid driver’s license, they will be able to track you down.
Amazingly enough they can’t seem to track down illegal aliens though, or even come up with a valid number of them……………………11 million – hah!
Chooch . . . I guess they can really have my guns . . . BULLETS FIRST!!!
Let’s start with their backgrounds, and association with the Communist party.
Hmm – I had my first of a long series of background checks done in 1973 to get a bartender’s license since the pizza joint I worked at sold beer. Since then I have had so many done I couldn’t count them even if I took off my shoes. Those checks ranged from the ones required for entry into the military and for subsequent security clearances,law enforcement enty and of course for gun purchases. All passed of course. My question for the ‘universal’ folks – just how many of those checks do I have to endure to ‘satisfy’ their lust… Read more »
GomeznSA . . . However many your “Communist Leaders” deem appropriate. However many it takes to completely discourage firearms ownership. If the Communist Democraps cannot just plainly outlaw firearms in one fell swoop, they will just keep tightening the screws until it will be virtually impossible for an American Citizen to actually own or possess a gun!!! TIME TO TAKE BACK OUR GOVERNMENT BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!!
Scharf . . . Yeah. Who is gonna’ charge ’em, arrest ’em, and bringem’ to court?!
AKA criminalize every legal gun owner in America
Every friggen group is mislabeling these BILLS! They are NOT HOUSE RESOLUTIONS. They are HOUSE BILLS. House Resolutions are “HR” and House Bills are “HB”.
And nobody wants to admit they made this mistake and fix it.
HR 8 is a horrible RESOLUTION that’s been put on the backburner and NO R’s voted for it. And there is NO HR 1446.
I’ve told the FPC, GOA, NRA and they won’t even admit they made the mistake and correct their materials.
This is ridiculous.
If the Communist Democraps want my guns they can have them . . . BULLETS FIRST!!!
In my small part of the world, opinions reverse quickly when discussion reveals what the democrats really want is to register transfers between mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, uncles, cousins, friends, and neighbors. The fact that changes minds is that these laws severely punish tens of millions of mourning widows who fail to run background checks on those who were promised their dead husbands’ firearms. Usually, those would be their children. They’re not told by pollsters that democrats demand checks on heirs of inheritances, bequeathals, gifts and sales of inherited collections, however small they are. Democrats who craft these… Read more »