In most states a fair number of guns are sold at gunshows with no background check.
Yes. And in many states you can sell any of your personal property, including your the ground you own, a house on it, your car, a Rolex watch, a cell phone, etc with no requirement to secure government sanctioned approval for the sale.
When guns are put on the table, tho, OMG YOU NEED TO GET THAT APPROVED! The ugly reality is - criminals don't. Their guns aren't approved sales, they are in fact illegal transactions in many cases, and often use guns that were illegally obtained, ie, stolen.
So, the question arises, why do I need government approval to sell a firearm when I don't for any of the rest of my property, and how does that effectively stop criminals from purchasing firearms contrary to law? It most clearly does NOT. There is in point of fact an abundant trade in stolen firearms where gun possession is restricted, and there is in point of fact seriously reduced or non existent enforcement by the police in those areas to reduce those sales.
We have the oh so touchy feely "we need to do something" laws on the one hand, and the brutal results on the other. Pointing out that free citizens are still able to dispose of their property absent government oversight is where the wrong focus is placed, as if it's a bad thing. Do not forget that if the government is given power to exert control over one type of property, it's basically giving them control over ALL of it eventually. As Australia and Great Britain have so amply demonstrated.
No, citizen, you can't carry that Victorinox into the office, you might use it to stab your coworkers and commit mass murder. It's already a typical school safety policy, and it implies that possession is intent. Like, bumpstocks.
You won't like the future when that becomes a common perspective.
Work to keep the right to dispose of your property face to face or lose your right completely in the long run. How do some of us older guys know? Well, we lived in a time where you could purchase firearms thru the mail and delivered to your home.
Pepperidge Farms remembers . . .
