OPPOSE the Criminalization of Private Firearms Transfers
Virginia: OPPOSE the Criminalization of Private Firearms Transfers
"Universal" background checks do not stop criminals
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), 75 percent of criminals in state and federal state prison who had possessed a firearm during their offense acquired the firearm through theft, “Off the street/underground market,” or “from a family member or friend, or as a gift.” Less than one percent got firearms from dealers or non-dealers at gun shows.
Criminals defeat the background check system by getting guns through straw purchasers. ATF has reported, “[t]he most frequent type of trafficking channel identified in ATF investigations is straw purchasing from federally licensed firearms dealers. Nearly 50 percent....”
In a 2018 study, researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the UC Davis School of Medicine found that comprehensive background checks and prohibitions based on violent misdemeanors “were not associated with changes in firearm suicide or homicide.”
"Universal" background checks facilitate firearms registration
The National Instant Criminal Background Check Systems (NICS) would become a registry of firearm transfers if all firearms transfers were subject to NICS checks and the FBI retained records of approved checks indefinitely, both of which gun control supporters have proposed. This is because such records include information currently maintained on federal Form 4473, documenting the identity of the firearm purchaser and the make, model and serial number of the firearm transferred. Over time, as people sell or bequeath their firearms, a registry of firearm transfers would become a registry of firearms possessed.
There is no "gun show loophole" or "online sales loophole"
Federal law requires all firearm dealers to be licensed and to initiate a NICS check before transferring a firearm to a non-dealer, regardless of where the transfer takes place or of how people communicate about selling/buying a firearm. Virginia law already requires the state police to be available to perform background checks for firearm transfers between non-dealers at gun shows.
The "40 percent" myth
In January 2013, the Washington Post gave President Obama "Three Pinocchios" for claiming that 40 percent of firearms are sold without a background check, and noted that the authors of the study upon which the claim is based say, “we don’t know the current percentage, nor does anyone else.”
There is no overwhelming support for "universal" background checks
Gun control supporters claim that 92 percent of Americans support background checks on all firearm transfers. In November 2014, a background check ballot initiative in Washington was approved by only 59 percent of voters. In November 2016, Maine voters rejected a background check referendum by a margin of 52 to 48 percent, while Nevada voters narrowly adopted an unenforceable background check measure 50.45 to 49.55 percent.
"Universal" background checks would not have prevented the Virginia Beach tragedy
According to law enforcement, the perpetrator of the shooting in Virginia Beach legally purchased the firearms used in the attack.
Gov. Northam recently suggested that this is not a complete list of the gun control measures he wants the General Assembly to consider. Read the latest articles.
It's critical that every gun owner in the Commonwealth contact their legislators and urge them to OPPOSE Gov. Northam’s and his media allies' gun control agenda.
NRA-ILA is hosting town hall meetings throughout Virginia— including in Fredericksburg, Ashland, and Belle Haven.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Last week, the Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee sent four gun control bills to the full chamber. The measures ...
Saturday, January 18, 2020
By Larry Carver Carver is a retired law enforcement officer who lives in Roanoke County.
Monday, January 13, 2020
The Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee met today and wasted no time in passing gun control bills as their ...
Friday, January 10, 2020
Days before law-abiding citizens are set to go to Richmond to urge lawmakers to defend their rights, the ...
Friday, January 10, 2020
Virginia’s General Assembly officially kicked off on January 8th, and the newly-controlled anti-gun legislative body is wasting no ...
Monday, January 6, 2020
Disgraced Governor Ralph Northam and his anti-gun allies in the newly elected legislature have made it clear they ...
Monday, January 6, 2020
In recent weeks NRA-ILA informed Virginia gun owners about gun control funding included in the state budget bill. The budget ...
Monday, January 6, 2020
There is no such thing as a gun free zone. A person intent on criminal violence will not ...
Friday, December 13, 2019
As Virginia gun owners have shown their displeasure with Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s proposed attack on their rights ...
Thursday, August 22, 2019
After the devastating shooting that took place in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart that left 22 people dead ...