Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

'Forty percent of guns don’t go through background checks' Lie Debunked

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

'Forty percent of guns don’t go through background checks' Lie Debunked

The claim that 40 percent of gun sales do not go through a federal background check is false and comes from a decades-old survey that has been widely debunked.

  • Media outlets including the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Washington Post have concluded that this claim is false.  Washington Post gave the claim 3 out of 4 Pinocchios for being way off target.
     
  • Most of the survey covered sales before a federal background check system existed.
     
  • The 1994 survey was conducted eight months after the Brady Act went into effect, mandating background checks on individuals seeking to buy firearms from federally licensed dealers. Survey participants were asked about their gun acquisitions going back two years. Some of the participants likely made gun purchases before the Brady Act, when they were not required to undergo federal background checks.
     
  • Self-reports are inherently unreliable – not actual data of sales.
     
  • Only a small group of gun owners — 251 people — answered the survey question about the origin of their weapons. Some of the gun owners were not sure how they had gotten their guns, answering “probably” or “probably not” on whether they got the gun from a licensed firearm dealer.
     
  • Additionally, the federal survey simply asked buyers if they thought they were buying from a licensed firearms dealer. While all Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs) do background checks, only those perceived as being FFLs were counted. Yet, there is much evidence that survey respondents who went to the smallest FFLs, especially the “kitchen table” types, had no idea that the dealer was actually “licensed.” Many buyers seemed to think that only “brick and mortar” stores were licensed dealers, and so the survey underestimating the number of sales covered by the checks.
     
  • The researchers gave this number for all transactions, including gifts, not just “sales.” Count only guns that were bought, traded, borrowed, rented, issued as a job requirement or won through raffles, and 85 percent went through federally licensed gun dealers; just 15 percent would’ve been transferred without a background check.
     
  • Economist John Lott, the author of several landmark studies on the real-world impact of gun control, has concluded that if you take out transfers of guns either between FFLs or between family members, the remaining number of transfers falls to about 10 percent. Lott stated, “We don’t know the precise number today, but it is hard to believe that it is above single digits.” (http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/op-ed-truth-background-checks)

Facts on “how criminals get their guns”:

How criminals get guns— According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the vast majority of criminals in state prison for gun crimes get guns through theft, on the black market, from a drug dealer or “on the street.” Less than one percent get guns from gun shows.

Straw purchasers— According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), “The most frequent type of trafficking channel identified in ATF investigations is straw purchasing from federally licensed firearms dealers. Nearly 50 percent . . . .” Straw purchasers are people who pass background checks and buy guns for criminals, defeating the background check system.

Stolen guns— According to the BJS, “about 1.4 million guns, or an annual average of 232,400, were stolen during burglaries and other property crimes in the six-year period from 2005 through 2010.” The FBI’s stolen firearm file contained over 2 million reports as of March 1995.The BATFE has reported “Those that steal firearms commit violent crimes with stolen guns, transfer stolen firearms to others who commit crimes, and create an unregulated secondary market for firearms, including a market for those who are prohibited by law from possessing a gun. ”Even gun control supporters have said, “approximately 500,000 guns are stolen each year from private citizens. . . . Obviously, these stolen guns go directly into the hands of criminals. ”A study conducted by gun control supporters found that in 1994 “About 211,000 handguns and 382,000 long guns were stolen in noncommercial thefts that year, for a total of 593,000 stolen firearms.”

 

TRENDING NOW
New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

The F-35 stealth jet isn’t the only example of expensive technology that crashed recently. The implementation of New York’s ammunition background check law – the rollout of which was, to be generous, extremely low visibility – was ...

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Professional gun control advocates have always had a seat at the table in the Biden White House. Now, however, they will not only sit at the table but determine its menu, set it, and compile ...

California: Governor Newsom Continues His Vendetta Against Lawful Gun Owners Signing Multiple Anti-Gun Bills into Law

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

California: Governor Newsom Continues His Vendetta Against Lawful Gun Owners Signing Multiple Anti-Gun Bills into Law

On Tuesday, September 26th, California Governor Gavin Newsom hosted a signing ceremony in Sacramento where he signed multiple anti-gun bills into law, most notably: an 11% excise tax on all firearms and ammunition; vastly expanded concealed carry ...

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

After several weeks of the abject failure of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) attempt to suspend constitutional rights in her state, there are a number of theories as to what, exactly, she was ...

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Monday, July 17, 2023

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Late last month, Massachusetts politicians put forth HD 4420, “an act modernizing firearm laws.” This massive piece of legislation re-writes gun laws in the Commonwealth and imposes unprecedented gun-control.

NRA Slams Gov. Newsom's Latest Assault on Second Amendment

Gun Laws  

Second Amendment  

News  

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

NRA Slams Gov. Newsom's Latest Assault on Second Amendment

The National Rifle Association released the following statement on California Gov. Newsom's signing of gun control: "The NRA condemns the legislation enacted by Gov. Newsom. It is a blatant and egregious attack on the rights ...

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

News  

Monday, August 21, 2023

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

There are some significant changes due to take effect early next month in the Empire State.

Massachusetts: 2A Rally in Boston Commons, on September 27th

Friday, September 22, 2023

Massachusetts: 2A Rally in Boston Commons, on September 27th

Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL) will be holding a rally against HD 4420 “an act modernizing firearm laws,” on Wednesday, September 27th.  NRA members and Second Amendment right supporters are encouraged to join the rally ...

Grassroots Spotlight: New Mexicans Rally to Oppose Gun Control

Take Action  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Grassroots Spotlight: New Mexicans Rally to Oppose Gun Control

New Mexico rallied in solidarity to defend the Second Amendment! On Saturday, September 16th, your NRA-ILA Grassroots team and 100 law-abiding New Mexicans gathered at Calibers Shooting Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and spoke out “on ...

Colorado: Anti-Hunting Legislation Initiative 91 Scheduled for Public Comment

Hunting  

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Colorado: Anti-Hunting Legislation Initiative 91 Scheduled for Public Comment

On Friday, September 22nd, Initiative 91 was filed to appear on the ballot in the November 2024 election in a push by anti-hunting advocates trying to stop the age-old practice of hunting predators, such as ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.