Background Checks Don't Work

“Last year, thousands of people trying to buy guns from dealers made false statements about their past on the required federal form, then went on to fail the background check due to a serious criminal record or other disqualifier. Lying to a licensed gun dealer is a felony punishable by a fine or up to 10 years in prison. But an ATF study showed that, in 12,710 cases of background check denials where the applicants LIED—which is a felony—only 12 were prosecuted for lying on their application. If there is no prosecution for lying, what is there to keep applicants FROM lying? In 2016, an internal ATF briefing paper showed that those who lie on their applications are far more likely to commit a gun crime than those who are honest. The “authorities” think lying on their application is such a minor crime they rarely prosecute it. But more prosecutions would “send a message” to future liars that they won’t get away with it. Of course, the fact that most potential criminal shooters don’t even bother to buy their guns legally, thereby bypassing a background check is not even mentioned by anti-gun fools. But it is a major factor, and one that should be considered. (CNN)