Barack Obama is planning to use an executive order to require more stringent background checks on gun sales, the AP is reporting.
It’s not even a big one. It’s pretty tame. The executive order will require anyone who sells guns for “business” to perform background checks on prospective buyers. That’s it.
Under current law, only federally licensed gun dealers must conduct background checks on buyers, but many who sell guns at flea markets, on websites or other informal settings don’t register as dealers. Gun control advocates say that loophole is exploited to skirt the background check requirement.
Now, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will issue updated guidance that says the government should deem anyone “in the business” of selling guns to be a dealer, regardless of where he or she sells the guns.
Basically, this will make sure that anyone who sells a gun has a vested interest in not selling it to people who want to kill other people.
That’s good! Don’t worry, though. Much like every law, there’s still a billion loopholes.
Far from mandating background checks for all gun sales, the new guidance still exempt collectors and gun hobbyists, and the exact definition of who must register as a dealer and conduct background checks remains exceedingly vague. The administration did not issue a number for how many guns someone must sell to be considered a dealer, instead saying it planned to remind people that courts have deemed people to be dealers in some cases even if they only sell a handful of guns.
And you’ll still get your guns just as fast. How awesome is that?
In an attempt to prevent gun purchases from falling through the cracks, the FBI will hire 230 more examiners to process background checks, the White House said. The FBI has a computerized system that can process background checks for many in seconds.
The White House also said it planned to ask Congress for $500 million to improve mental health care, and pledged to move forward with efforts to keep guns out of the hands with people deemed unsuitable because of mental illness.
These are all good things, right?
Right?
Please don’t argue this isn’t a good thing.
*Not take your guns, but that won’t stop people from overreacting to this news by saying that this is the first step in Barack Obama’s final nefarious plot, which ends in the complete disarmament of America, so that, on his last day in office, presiding over an enfeebled nation, he can pull off his mask, reveal he is a Muslim and allow ISIS to march into the heartland.
That’s not gonna happen. Before you say it’s gonna happen, remember that it’s not gonna happen. So don’t say that’s what’s going to happen. This is just very tame, modest action on gun control that will most likely be repealed by Donald Trump in a little over 12 months. So fret not.
[Via Gawker]