Universal background check
This figure was published in a 2017 study by the Annals of Internal Medicine which, using a 2015 survey, found that 22% of recent gun transfers (purchased and nonpurchased) were completed without a background check.
A 2008 report from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) stated that the NICS had prevented over 1.4 million felons and other prohibited persons from purchasing firearms in the years between 1994–2005.
In November 1998, President Bill Clinton directed the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the U.S. Attorney General (A.G.) to provide recommendations concerning the fact that 25% or more of sellers at gun shows in the U.S. are not required to run background checks on potential buyers.
[6][7][8] In May, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, "We think it is reasonable to provide mandatory, instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show.
[10][nb 1] Efforts to reverse a key feature of the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) by requiring criminal background checks and purchase records on private sales at gun shows, which had become prolific in the U.S. since the law's passage in 1986, were unsuccessful.
"[17][18][19] In an essay published in 2013, Wintemute said that comprehensive background checks that included private sales would result in a simple, fair framework for retail firearms commerce.
[21] A 2012 study published in the journal Injury Prevention found that nearly 80% of all firearms used for criminal purposes are obtained through transfers from unlicensed dealers, which are not required to conduct background checks in a majority of states due to the private sale exemption.
"[28] In 2015, large majorities of American adults, both Republicans (79%) and Democrats (88%), supported background checks for private sales and at gun shows, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
[38][39][40] Gun-rights advocate and author John Lott argues that universal background checks prevent poorer Americans from acquiring guns.
Lott argues that universal background checks are an effective tax on guns and can prevent less affluent Americans from purchasing them, and that this disproportionately affects poor minorities who live in high-crime urban areas.
[47] An October 2018 study conducted by the VPRP at UC Davis and the Center for Gun Policy and Research at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found no change in firearm homicide or suicide rates in the ten years following California's 1991 implementation of comprehensive background checks.
[48] A study published in July 2018 found no association between firearm homicide and suicide rates and the repeal of comprehensive background check laws in two states.
The study also concluded that in order to understand whether comprehensive background checks generally reduce firearm deaths, more evidence from other states is needed.
[49] A study published in June 2018 in the Journal of Urban Health by authors affiliated with the VPRP at UC Davis and the Center for Gun Policy and Research at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found comprehensive background check (CBC) laws not tied to a permit-to-purchase law were associated with an increase in firearm homicide rates but not non-firearm homicide rates.
[50] The authors of the study noted, however, that they have "identified no plausible theory to explain how requiring a prospective firearm purchaser to undergo a background check would result in increased homicide rates.
"[50] In attempting to explain the unexpected results, the researchers proposed an endogenous relationship such that states passing the CBC-only laws were doing so in response to already rising firearm homicide rates.
Some clinicians have noted that these laws can create uncertainty regarding the legality of such transfers, potentially complicating their ability to effectively counsel patients on firearm safety in these situations.
