Gosh, everybody wants to keep criminals from heaving firearms!
Unfortunately, "universal background checks" won't do that and are completely doomed to failure. Here's why...

1. Criminals don't follow the law. Sounds painfully obvious but Joe criminal illegally buying guns from another party (again breaking the law) is not going to all of a sudden go to his local gunshop or police station and pay for a background check. duh..

2. Firearms are not registered with a title like a car (at least in free states). Ownership is usually possession. However, how are you going to prove if/when a firearm was transferred? Today under the proposed universal background checks a person can simply say that they obtained the firearm prior to law. Or even easier, it is not theirs but borrowed from a "friend."

There are only two ways that the deeply flawed model of universal background checks would remotely work as intended:

1. A centralized registration system which is ILLEGAL under Federal Law.

2. Background check of ALL owners - also ILLEGAL and EX POST FACTO.

Notice how both options are ILLEGAL??? Ironic since the universal background check model relies on people to be law abiding and get a background check in the first place.

Universal background checks make good sound bites. But that's about it. Folks that worry about it being step 1 of a scheme against firearms have reason to be worry.

It wasn't that long ago that everyone was saying "No one is going to take your guns away." Now that has transformed into "No one is taking your hunting shotgun away."

Media used to call it paranoid, but with numerous proposals for outright bans, registrations and EVEN confiscations proposed for "assault weapons" and "high-capacity" magazines is there any doubt of the anti-gunner's goal?

"High capacity" can mean 15, 10, and now as few as 8 in NY or even 1!!! (as proposed in CT) How long before they come for that hunting shotgun?

How long before they say you don't "NEED" to hunt
... just like they claim you don't need an "assault weapon."

If you haven't called your legislators (or even if you have) please do so now. I have sample letters for Federal Congress and WA available here.