One theme
we keep hearing is that there should be universal background checks on ALL
firearm transfers. This IS bad. Universal background checks on private
transfers—a brainchild of Michael Bloomberg, requires a background check for
any transfer--even lending a gun--between private parties. Gun lending is most
common among hunters, when hunter A has drawn a permit for an elk, for example,
and hunter B may offer the loan of a rifle more suitable for such a large
animal. This loan would now require a background check before the borrower can
receive the weapon, and another background check before he/she could return it
to the lender.
Also,
consider this: an FFL holder cannot be compelled to aid a private party sale by
performing such a check, and many will not. They see the seller of a used
weapon as a competitor. Two weeks ago, when a friend offered me a deal on a
matched set of upper and lower receivers for an AR-15, I needed an FFL holder
to receive it and perform the background check as it was to be shipped from
another state. One local gunshop, Butch's guns, absolutely refused. He said
they sell AR-15 receivers, if I'd like to buy one. He wasn't going to assist a
private sale though!
If no
private sale could move forward without an FFL, and no FFL was willing to
assist in such a sale, only new guns could be sold, and used guns in the hands
of private parties would have zero value, even if you want to sell it to an FFL
holder. Why would a gun dealer pay fair market value for a used gun if the
owner can’t legally sell it to anyone else? Alternatively, an FFL holder could
charge whatever he deemed acceptable for the service--and it could be more
expensive for the buyer to get the used private party's gun than to buy a new
one from the FFL holder.
