We need to put aside the belief that our opponents' main interest in universal background checks is to prevent prohibited persons from getting guns. Our opponents want universal background checks so that all firearms transactions are documented by records that are readily accessible by the government.
Our opponents have repeatedly demonstrated their true focus on universal transaction records.
Last year, Senator Coburn offered a proposal to bring Republican support for a recordless UBC law ... and Senator Shumer flatly rejected it, specifically because it did not produce transaction records that would be under government control.
Background check requirements at a dealer can be met either through a call to NICS or, in many states, by showing a concealed carry permit. Last year's UBC bills called for all private transactions to go through FFLs, not to check a person's background -that could be done by seeing a person's concealed carry permit- but to ensure the production and retention of transaction records.
If all firearms transactions are ever recorded, it would be a trivial step to require the currently-distributed records to be gathered in a central registry.