A chance for sensible gun laws – The Boston Globe
No surprise that gun violence has risen steadily over the past eight years. There isn’t even a law requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales in 32 states, and criminals and terrorists have been proven to exploit this dangerous loophole in federal law. Is it any wonder why America is the gun violence capital of the world and US urban areas have become war zones
There is no criminal background check on all gun sales (read private-transfers) because there is no practical way of implementing such a system. Such a system would become a multi-million dollar boondoggle that would generate arrests of fathers for giving their sons hunting guns without proper paperwork. The criminals will continue to acquire guns illegally. The straw purchasers will continue to transfer firearms to prohibited persons (already a serious crime) and will simply ignore the new piece of required paperwork.
“War Zones” is an over statement. Less than 1% of Americans are killed by firearms. That is roughly 30,000 deaths a year including suicides, police shootings, justifiable homicides, and accidents as well as violent crimes in a population of about 300 million.
This is all you really need to know:
John Rosenthal is co-founder of Stop Handgun Violence, Common Sense About Kids and Guns and American Hunters and Shooters Association.
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