Why Universal Background Checks Don’t Work

Congress is seriously considering Universal Background Checks Gun Registration as a “common-sense” gun control measure. I contend that there is nothing “common-sense” about this legislative proposal. Here are 8 documented Facts- Not Feelings that explain why.

Myth: Universal Background Checks Gun Registration will help police find suspects

FACT: Registration is required in Hawaii, Chicago, and Washington D.C. Yet there has not been a single case where registration was instrumental in identifying someone who committed a crime.(Gun Licensing Leads to Increased Crime, Lost Lives, John Lott, L.A. Times, Aug 23, 2000) Criminals very rarely leave their guns at the scene of the crime. Would-be criminals also virtually never get licenses or register their weapons.

FACT: There are more guns in the U.S. than cars (228,000,000 guns and 207,754,000 automobiles). Yet you are 31 times more likely to be accidentally killed by a car than a gun according to the National Safety Council (Automobiles estimates: Federal Highway Administration, October 1998. Firearm estimates: FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, 1996) … despite cars having been registered and licensed for almost 100 years.

Myth: Universal Background Checks Gun Registration will make it more difficult for criminals to get guns

FACT: Criminals do not typically use legally purchased guns. The FBI reports: According to the 1997 Survey of State Prison Inmates, among those possessing a gun, the source of the gun was from –

• a flea market or gun show for fewer than 2%
• a retail store or pawnshop for about 12%
• family, friends, a street buy, or an illegal source for 80%

Myth: Universal Background Checks Gun Registration would have prevented mass shootings over the past year.

FACT: Most mass murderers do not have criminal records or a history of psychiatric hospitalization. They would not be disqualified from purchasing their weapons legally. Certainly, people cannot be denied their Second Amendment rights just because they look strange or act in an odd manner. Besides, mass killers could always find an alternative way of securing the needed weaponry, even if they had to steal from family members or friends. ( The Chronicle of Higher Education , December 2012 )

Myth: Universal Background Checks Gun Registration will keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of these madmen.

FACT: The DOJ memo competed in January 2013 (but not officially acknowledged by the Obama Administration) “Summary of Select Firearm Violence Prevention Strategies “….

“Fatalities from mass shootings (those with 4 or more victims in a particular place and time) account on average for 35 fatalities per year. Policies that address the larger firearm homicide issue will have a far greater impact even if they do not address the particular issues of mass shootings issue will have a far greater impact even if they do not address the particular issues of mass shootings.”

FACT: The January 2013 USDOJ Report says that when it comes to UniversalBackground Checks Gun Registration that “Effectiveness depends on requiring gun registration“

Myth: Universal Background Checks Gun Registration will somehow reduce gun crime.

FACT: Gun registry data has actually made it easier for criminals to commit gun crimes. Criminals are increasingly using poorly handled gun registry data to find places to illegally obtain guns.

FACT: Registration lists turned into confiscation lists in New York City and California.