In a bid to close the so-called “gun show loophole,” the Biden administration on Thursday proposed a rule that would compel anyone selling firearms at gun shows and online to check the backgrounds of prospective buyers.
The plan comes a little over a year after President Joe Biden signed into law the first significant piece of federal gun safety legislation in decades, which, among other things, increased the number of vendors who must conduct background checks before a transaction.
The Justice Department recently unveiled a new rule that could make some private sellers subject to the background check requirement. According to the department, the guidance “identifies examples of conduct that would, in certain circumstances, be presumed to qualify as engaging in the business of dealing in firearms and thus to require a federal firearms license,” meaning the seller would have to conduct background checks prior to sales.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ director, Steven Dettelbach, “a growing number of individuals engaged in the business of selling firearms for profit have chosen not to register as federal firearms licensees, as required by law.”
“Instead, they have attempted to profit through the illegal, undercover selling of firearms. According to him, these actions “undermine the law, put public safety at risk, place a heavy burden on law enforcement, and are unjust to the numerous licensed dealers who make great efforts to abide by the law.
According to a Justice Department press release, the proposed rule also adds a category of “personal firearms collection,” exempting “genuine hobbyists and collectors” who may desire to “enhance and liquidate their collections without fear of breaking the law” from the background check requirement.
The proposed rule, according to the Brady organization that works to prevent gun violence, addresses “a massive loophole in our life-saving background checks system.”
According to Kris Brown, president of Brady, “it is past time to ensure that anyone who sells firearms for profit is required to be licensed and that their sales of firearms are subject to a Brady Background Check.”
Vice President Kamala Harris praised the proposed regulation but urged lawmakers to take additional action to lower gun violence.
“Congress must pass legislation to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, mandate safe gun storage, end immunity from liability for gun manufacturers, and require background checks on all gun sales—even those by gun dealers who are not registered,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
