Weapons Background Checks
Who can buy guns?
Who can't buy guns?
People that have a felony background, that are addicted to drugs, people who are, the term in the law is "mentally defective", can't buy guns. When the law was initially passed with that language, it meant not guilty by reason of insanity. In other words, you murdered somebody, you assaulted somebody, but because we're nutty enough to think you're insane, which is often not true at all, we're not going to have you actually convicted, we're just going to put you in a mental institution or something. That's what it meant then. Now we're talking about somebody who might've been on Ritalin, a veteran might have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, and we're talking about people like who have never been convicted of anything. At least initially in 1968, people had been convicted of an actual crime but now the term has been made so elastic that it's on the verge of including those definitions if a bill before the congress is to go onto the books.
How do guns end up in the hands of criminals?
Criminals get guns usually illegally because they're criminals. And certainly that's the case in England because there are no legal handguns in England, other than a few owned by the police. Even the British Olympic team has to go to Belgium to practice, and yet the police figure there are twice as many illegal guns in that country as when they confiscated them. So the more they confiscate, the more the criminals have guns. Doesn't seem like a good idea to me.
Do background checks drive criminals to possess guns illegally?
Background is irrelevant for criminals owning guns. The only thing background checks do is unconstitutionally make good guys prove their innocence in order to exercise a constitutional freedom, and proving your innocence is, that's okay as a rule of law in a dictatorship, but in America the whole idea is you're innocent until proven guilty. Now when I go to buy a gun I have to prove that I'm innocent, and the government doesn't have to prove anything. It's all up to me. The burden of proof has been shifted. That's wrong.
What types of guns are recovered from crimes?
Primarily hand guns but, to some extent, rifles and shotguns.
Why are there mandatory background checks?
Although the government works diligently to ensure proper gun purchasing, criminals will always find ways to get around that. Therefore, making gun safety just that much more important.
How do gun laws affect law-abiding citizens who wants to buy a gun?
How do gun laws affect a person with a criminal record?
Should anyone be allowed to buy any type of gun regardless of a criminal past?
