The other side of the coin is that while there was at least one NICS check for my renewed permit this year, NICS checks are no longer done when I purchase a gun from a dealer.
Ron W. – Well, we’ve had universal background checks now since I think 2013. So, any gun bought after that would have to go through an FFL.
if you later sold it to a private party without going through the required background check, there’d be a paper trail of the original dated transfer to you through the FFL. We also have lost & stolen now, so I’m betting the cops would want to know how that gun got from you to another party without another background checked transfer taking place or, without you having reported it stolen.
Now, if you had something you had purchased through an FFL prior to UBC’s becoming law, the parties to a private transfer of that gun could, theoretically, claim that a legal private sale of that gun happened back before UBC’s were required, regardless of whether the claim was true. It’d be impossible to prove whether the private transfer happened legally, before UBC’s or illegally, after UBC’s. It’d be illegal and dishonest, but virtually unenforceable.
So really, UBC’s don’t control the private transfer of guns that hit their 1st FFL check before UBC’s came into effect.
Mike W. – absolutely – and to take it further, what if you moved out of state (say WA to ID) and then back. You could sell all your guns legally with no UBC (face to face, in state, in ID) and buy all new ones. Then on moving “back” to any UBC state, that state has NO record of any of your guns, but does have a whole list of guns you (legally) no longer own. And yet, if any turn up at a crime scene, they’ll accuse you of illegally “selling” them without a check. Of course, if you have a paper trail of having moved twice, their whole case blows up.
June 5th, 2018 at 10:37 pm
We need to be cautious about using NICS numbers as a straight-up correlation for sales numbers: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4106374-nics-data-objects-mirror-appear-way-bigger
June 6th, 2018 at 12:46 pm
Agree with Tam. States, like mine, that have passed universal background checks are going to have higher NICS check numbers as well.
June 6th, 2018 at 1:16 pm
@Mike W, how does your State enforce “universal background checks” on private sales between persons?
June 7th, 2018 at 12:17 pm
The other side of the coin is that while there was at least one NICS check for my renewed permit this year, NICS checks are no longer done when I purchase a gun from a dealer.
June 7th, 2018 at 3:58 pm
Ron W. – Well, we’ve had universal background checks now since I think 2013. So, any gun bought after that would have to go through an FFL.
if you later sold it to a private party without going through the required background check, there’d be a paper trail of the original dated transfer to you through the FFL. We also have lost & stolen now, so I’m betting the cops would want to know how that gun got from you to another party without another background checked transfer taking place or, without you having reported it stolen.
Now, if you had something you had purchased through an FFL prior to UBC’s becoming law, the parties to a private transfer of that gun could, theoretically, claim that a legal private sale of that gun happened back before UBC’s were required, regardless of whether the claim was true. It’d be impossible to prove whether the private transfer happened legally, before UBC’s or illegally, after UBC’s. It’d be illegal and dishonest, but virtually unenforceable.
So really, UBC’s don’t control the private transfer of guns that hit their 1st FFL check before UBC’s came into effect.
June 7th, 2018 at 4:35 pm
@Mike W., thanks.
June 7th, 2018 at 10:23 pm
Mike W. – absolutely – and to take it further, what if you moved out of state (say WA to ID) and then back. You could sell all your guns legally with no UBC (face to face, in state, in ID) and buy all new ones. Then on moving “back” to any UBC state, that state has NO record of any of your guns, but does have a whole list of guns you (legally) no longer own. And yet, if any turn up at a crime scene, they’ll accuse you of illegally “selling” them without a check. Of course, if you have a paper trail of having moved twice, their whole case blows up.