Gun Show Background Check Act
The U.S. government should pass the Gun Show Background Check Act requiring gun vendors to perform background checks on their customers
The United States is overwhelmed with violence done with the help of firearms more than any other advanced industrial democracy. Every year people die because of gunfire. The nation has witnessed the murders as public figures; massacres in workplaces and schools; and epidemics of gun violence that terrorize neighborhoods and claim tens of thousands of lives. Commanding majorities of Americans support introducing stricter control on firearms. In the last several decades, gun control efforts have included bans of certain types of guns deemed particularly dangerous, restrictions on the way guns can be stored and carried, restrictions on who can buy guns and the circumstances under which they can be sold. The efforts should be made to make gun manufacturers legally accountable for injuries and deaths which were the result of using firearms. Pushes for increasing gun control had legal and political conflicts and have met with limited success. It is much easier to purchase a gun in the USA, if to compare with other developed countries.
The Second Amendment to the Constitution made a great contribution to spreading the guns. Supporters of gun control laws blame the Government which provides an easy access to guns. There are a lot of controversies over the perceived limitations. Supporters want to enhance the system's ability to withhold guns from mentally challenged people. While some critics of the system would like to abolish it, others tolerate and even support further restricting the access to guns for mentally challenged. But all critics oppose requiring unlicensed gun sellers to run background checks. The background checks system supporters say that the loophole that applies to unlicensed sellers guns needs to be closed. Otherwise, people who cannot pass background checks will continue acquiring guns. Since ending the exemption would only prevent people from getting guns, law-abiding gun owners have nothing to worry about. Supporters also call for more efforts to keep guns out of inadequate people. Most criminals do not buy guns legally anyway. And most of the people selling guns at gun shows are actually licensed dealers. Widespread gun ownership is a better way to prevent violence than restricting gun purchases. One of the controversial aspects of the gun background check system is its handling towards mentally challenged. Although people who have been involuntarily committed crimes have been prohibited from buying guns since the Gun Control Act was passed in 1968, however, most states do not submit mental health records. Supporters of background checks say that the system is valuable and should be strengthened. The exception that allows unlicensed sellers not to have to perform background checks should be remedied. That exception creates an attractive opportunity for criminals and others who may be unable to pass background checks.
Today`s gun background check system is much better in the country. Many applications that have been denied prove its worth. Improving the background check system would help to reduce the incidence of gun-related tragedies even more. Critics of gun background checks say that unlicensed gun sellers at gun shows should not be the focus of legislation. Laws requiring them to undertake background checks force them to pay the fees required to conduct the checks. Such laws also prevent activities such as auctioning off guns at charity fund-raisers. Critics also object to gun control groups characterization of gun show dealers as unlicensed. Opponents discuss the idea that mandating background checks for unlicensed gun sales would have an effect on crime. Most criminals obtain guns illegally on the black market, and so toughening background check requirements simply creates obstacles for law-abiding gun owners rather than preventing crime. "When cops arrest someone for a gun crime they always ask where did the gun come from," says Joe Waldron, president of Washington Arms Collectors. "They know these guns didn't come from gun shows; usually they come from other criminals." Critics also contend that extending background checks is an intrusion on the privacy of gun owners.
Gun ownership is a Constitutional right, it should not be restricted in that way. Some critics argue that restrictions designed to keep unstable people from acquiring guns are the wrong way to address the issue. Efforts should be made to ensure that people who pose a danger to themselves or others are not a threat. Others say that limiting access to guns for mentally challenged is wrong because of the way it treats them. Some advocates for the mentally ill argue that it stigmatizes people with mental health problems. Some opponents suggest that, rather than restricting who can buy a gun, the government should in fact make it easier for people to carry guns. More non-criminals will be armed and able to defend themselves from people seeking to cause harm to them, which could prevent mass murderers from killing. It may be assumed by supporters of tougher background system that, the so-called gun show loophole, which allows unlicensed gun sellers to avoid running background checks on buyers, should be closed to prevent criminals from taking advantage of it. Background checks are not preventing to possess a firearm. Mental health record-keeping in the background check database should also be improved. While critics may say that most criminals do not buy guns at gun shows, so forcing unlicensed sellers to run background checks will only burden law-abiding people who sell firearms.
In addition, the background check system endangers the Constitutional right to own guns by monitoring gun purchases. The debate over the Second Amendment will not subside anytime soon. Whether legislation is passed either strengthening or weakening the present gun laws, debate over gun control has become a feature of American political life. Proper legislation will make Americans` lives more safety, avoiding murders and deaths of next generations.
