By Paul Lathrop
Contributing Editor
Today would have been the day to call your congressional representatives and let them know your opinions on HR 8, the “Universal” Background Check Bill and HR 1446, a bill giving the FBI an unlimited amount of time to complete background checks.
But now that both bills have been passed (see related story by Editor Dave Workman), the focus must now be on the U.S. Senate.
HR 8 would make all firearms sales illegal unless a federal background check is completed through a Federal Firearm Licensee. An exception is made for gifting to family members and for lending a firearm in the case of, “a temporary transfer that is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, including harm to self, family, household members, or others, if the possession by the transferee lasts only as long as immediately necessary to prevent the imminent death or great bodily harm, including the harm of domestic violence, dating partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, and domestic abuse.”
Imminent harm in self-defense law usually means that if something isn’t done in the next few seconds to the next few minutes, death or great bodily harm will occur. The chances that there will be someone there to loan a firearm is remote in the extreme.
Instead, this bill would prohibit you from selling your Remington 870 Wingmaster to your hunting buddy with who you go hunting every fall. You would need to go to an FFL and have a background check run for a fee.
It would prevent someone who has thoughts of harming themselves from giving their guns to a friend for safekeeping while that person works through their problems.
Combine that with the fact that it is already illegal for anyone to sell a firearm to someone who they believe is a prohibited person and the fact that most guns used in crime are stolen and never go through a background check, and you see the exercise in futility.
Then there is the one-two punch of HR 1446. This little gem would remove the time limit that the FBI has to perform their “instant” background check. Currently, an FFL has the option to release a firearm after three business days if the background check comes back delayed, and the Licensee has no reason to believe that the person is prohibited from owning a firearm.
HR 1446 would eliminate that option, essentially stopping the sale of all firearms to those who have a name similar to a criminal. It would also provide the possibility of choking off all firearms sales by only reducing staffing in the department that runs the NICS checks, slowing approvals to a crawl.
As reported by Workman, the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021,” (H.R. 8,) was passed on a vote of 227 to 203, with eight Republicans joining majority Democrats supporting the bill. That was followed by a 219-210 vote approving H.R. 1446, the so-called “Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021.”
To reach the Senate, call (202) 224-3121. Tell the switchboard which state you’re from and you will be connected to your state’s senators.
