Thursday, May 30, 2013 | 2 a.m.
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Background checks are the last step in the process to ensure gun owners have no disqualifying history of criminal or mental issues. Nearly all of the felons in possession of firearms obtained them in a way that avoids criminal background checks, i.e. by stealing them.
Most mental health providers do not routinely report mentally ill patients into the background records system, because of privacy issues and/or uncertainty over the efficacy of their treatment results.
Hunters and sport shooters routinely go through multiple background checks. They undergo background checks whenever they purchase a firearm from a federal firearms licensed dealer. They attend a gun safety class, attend defensive and/or tactical firearms training, and initial or renewal from each state in which they obtain a concealed weapons permit.
These background checks total hundreds of dollars at $25 to $50 each. Sales at gun shows require a background check from a federal firearms licensed dealer. The law being considered in Nevada to require background checks on every gun purchase is going to have a negligible effect on gun violence, and isn’t worth the time and expense to administer it.
It’s a feel-good thing that some people like, but has no real effect on the desired outcome.
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