Read WAVE’s New Report on Improving Wisconsin’s Criminal Background Check For Firearm Transactions
Imagine that airports offered two security options. One required passengers to show proof of identification, undergo x-ray screening, and have their luggage searched, and the second required no screening, no identification, no searching—nothing. Now imagine that, before boarding the very same plane, passengers were allowed to choose which option they preferred. Believing that such a security system would have any chance of preventing terrorists from boarding an aircraft would be foolish and illogical. Especially since September 11, 2001, the risks associated with an optional screening system are just too high for Americans to tolerate.
Like most people who board airliners, most individuals who seek to buy firearms are law abiding. Unfortunately, some are not. Therefore, for the sake of security, all gun purchasers are screened, and high-risk individuals are prohibited from purchasing a firearm. At least that’s what should happen. What really happens is that gun purchasers choose whether to be screened or not. They can buy a gun from a federally licensed firearm dealer, in which case they show identification and undergo a criminal background check, or they can choose to avoid the security screening by purchasing from a private seller, in which case the sale proceeds anonymously, with no background check, no identification, no questions asked.
Not surprisingly, there is a well-documented and undeniable connection between the unregulated gun market and criminal activity. Felons and others prohibited from purchasing a gun relish and, in fact, depend on the unregulated segment of the gun market. The rest of us suffer the chilling consequences of having an optional security system for gun purchases. Since 2001, approximately 150,000 American men, women and children have been killed with guns.
The double standard that exists for gun sales by licensed gun dealers versus those by unlicensed sellers is just as irrational and dangerous as optional screening at an airport would be. Purchasing a gun with no background check and no questions asked should simply no longer be an option.
Read more about and learn how this common sense solution can help reduce gun violence in our state.
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