By: RJ ThomasAfter a long series of increasingly frequent and violent mass shootings, Congress is finally starting to make a push for action on gun control. While they recognize that a complete removal of guns is neither a viable nor a smart move, they do understand that something needs to be done to ensure that these deadly weapons stay out of the wrong hands. Their newest proposal, which has already passed in the House but is stalled in the Senate, would require background checks for all gun purchases, including those bought at gun shows. While this movement is a step in the right direction, this step will not be as effective as intended with so many holes existing in the system. While checking to ensure that someone buying a gun does not have a criminal history or violent tendencies, there are holes in the system. While background checks are made to check for a person’s criminal background, state and local records struggle to keep federal records up to date. In one instance, a database was missing more than 70 percent of state criminal records, a percentage so high it would be ridiculous to even call the database effective. This creates the obvious issue of crimes not being documented well enough to effectively vet the people applying for background checks. There’s also the issue of the “default proceed” rule. The “default proceed” rule allows gun dealers to sell guns after 3 days even if their background check has not returned. So if a background check is submitted, but the FBI does not return anything to the gun dealer within three days, the gun is released to a potentially dangerous person, completely defeating the purpose of a background check. Shootings have occurred as a result of this rule, and in many instances the people who received the guns would not have been able to do so if more time was given to complete the background check. “Straw purchases” also pose a major issue in the system of background checks. A straw purchase is when someone who is able to pass a background check purchases a gun and sells it at a marked up price through unofficial channels to someone who wouldn’t have been able to get the gun otherwise. So while there is finally activity regarding the heavily debated issue of gun control, the current movement, while a step in the right direction, will ultimately not be enough to curb our country’s gun violence epidemic.
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Elena Caputo
Hi! My name is Elena, and I'm a senior at Wilson and one of the Editors of the Editorial section. If you have any questions or ideas or if you want to write, email me at [email protected]! Olivia MonosHello! My name is Olivia and I'm a junior this year, and one of the editors of the Editorial section! I'm really excited to write for the Paw Print again this year!
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