Arizona Senator Jeff Flake to consider "Universal Background Checks"

[Dean Weingarten]

Freshman Senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, appears to be bending from pressure in the media to "do something" to infringe on Second Amendment Rights. Given the rumors about Senator John McCain, one wonders if John may be giving his younger colleague advice. On Sunday, 20 January, this was published in the Arizona Republic:

Echoing many of his lower-chamber colleagues on Friday, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he likely would have a hard time supporting a new federal ban on “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines but suggested there may be common ground on universal background checks.

“I’ve always said we’ve got to do a better job of keeping guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them,” Flake said. “There have been some technological issues with gun shows, and you want to make sure that people can legally buy guns for protection or recreation or collection without untimely delays. But I think technology has moved so that we can better deal with that issue and have broader background checks.”

Requiring the 99 percent who are law abiding to jump through hoops in order to try to keep the 1 percent who are dangerous from aquireing firearms has always been a losing proposition. It is a failed paradigm that should be abandoned. It has always been a path meant to end with registration so as to enable confiscation.

Jeff Flake has an A rating with the NRA. It is time for his constituents to remind him that they do not need, nor does it serve the public, to suffer further infringements on the Second Amendment with "universal firearms registration" I mean "universal background checks", which are designed to end up at the same place.

What does work are projects to make sure that those who are prohibited from having firearms do not have them. That has been tried and does work. Limited resources should be applied to that effort, not the irresponsible and ineffective idea of establishing dangerous bureaucracies to check on millions to catch a few irresponsible individuals.

Link to Republic article

Link to ineffective results of background checks

Dean Weingarten

http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/01/arizona-senator-jeff-flake-to-consider.html

 

[Blackrock]

Maybe I am seeing this issue differently. As an Arizona CCW holder I am prequalified to purchase a firearm because of passing the background check when I got my CCW. So isn't this like a universal background check or like the FOID card?

Talked to Senator Flake before the elections last year and he is a very sharp and intense person and had an agenda ready to go on some of Arizonas key issues.

 

[2ifbyC]

Mailed a letter to him and McCain in which I stated that they support no new gun laws. It has been three weeks and still no response but they may be waiting to see what bills make it to Congress.

 

[MAKster]

Jeff Flake is one of the most libertarian members of Congress. I cannot conceive of any scenario where he would vote for more gun restrictions. Saying he would "consider" a proposal doesn't really mean anything.

 

[Trent]

Clearly background checks work so well.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...l-killer-amassed-huge-arsenal-police-say?lite

 

[Yo Mama]

As an Arizona CCW holder I am prequalified to purchase a firearm because of passing the background check when I got my CCW. So isn't this like a universal background check or like the FOID card?

No, you still go through a background check every time you buy a new firearm, you just don't have to wait for the call. You show your CCW, and they check your background later. FOID card is very different. It's a license to own the right to purchase a firearm. It's not a license to carry it or CCW it.

Jeff Flake is one of the most libertarian members of Congress. I cannot conceive of any scenario where he would vote for more gun restrictions. Saying he would "consider" a proposal doesn't really mean anything.

However, when I called his office last week they still did not know his official position. They reminded me his history on the 2nd, but had no stance.

Clearly background checks work so well.

They do sometimes, sometimes they don't. It's not a good argument to say because it didn't work in that instance that it's not valid or effective in others. Background check worked with the monster in CT denying a sale. Point is where to draw the line for private person to person sales.

 

[mrvco]

How would "Universal Background Checks" be different than what we have now? Does this just mean adding an FFL Transfer requirement for "Private Party Sales" and "Gun Show Sales"?

Before they consider changing anything, I wish they would streamline the process so the amount of time it takes for a background check wasn't so slow and unpredictable. Gun shows voluntarily require transfers here in Colorado post-Columbine anyway, but adding private party sales to an already heavily overloaded background check queue would be ridiculous.

 

[Dean Weingarten]

Recording Private Sales is a step toward Registration/Confiscation

Universal Background Checks is just a steping stone to Universal Registration. The time to stop this is now. We should be proposing substantive things such as doing away with the disastrous "Gun Free school Zone act", and eliminating the tax on suppressors.

This is all Media driven, do not waste a crises B.S.

None of the recent events would have been stopped by a background check.

The left has had this agenda planned, and now that President Obama is not worried about reelection, they are going for it.