House Democrats have passed The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, HR. 8 which will require background checks for all transfers (sales, loans, etc.) of …
House Democrats have passed The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, HR.8 which will require background checks for all transfers (sales, loans, etc.) of firearms with some minor exceptions. Advocates for gun control say the measure will make the public safer, while opponents say criminals and murders do not heed gun laws and the legislation will only infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens. “The purpose of this Act is to utilize the current background checks process in the United States to ensure individuals prohibited from gun possession are not able to obtain firearms,” the bill states. If the bill is passed in the Senate and becomes law, it will make it illegal for anyone who doesn’t have their own Federal Firearms License (FFL) to obtain a firearm without having a background check conducted by a licensee for each sale/transfer. An FFL is issued by a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), which enables a person or a company to engage in a business of importation or sale of firearms. Holding an FFL to do such business has been a legal requirement since the enactment of the Gun Control Act of 1968. H.R.8 would change the private party seller requirements, mandating that the seller go to the licensee’s business with the purchaser, and pay an unspecified fee. The FFL would then take the firearm and do the transfer and background check as if it were a firearm they were selling. The requirement to have a background check conducted by an licensee would not apply to loans or gifts between relatives; passing down of firearms in case of death; transfers necessary to temporarily prevent imminent death or great bodily harm; people who have their own FFL; law enforcement, security guards, or military members who are carrying out their professional duties; National Firearms Act transfers, because they have their own ATF requirements and transfers only used at a shooting range or while hunting, fishing, or trapping, or while in the presence of the owner.
