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Copyright 2014 by Attorney Carlos Gamino
our current gun background check requirements, and now the politicians are actively debating them again, as well.
The Current State of Gun Background Checks in Wisconsin
Right now, background checks are mandatory if you want to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer in the state of Wisconsin. Some people, including attorney general candidate Susan Happ, are pushing for background checks on the purchase of all firearms, including those between private sellers.
The Complexities of the Gun Background Check Debate
Whether you believe that background checks are good enough as-is or you want everyone to be subjected to screening, one fact remains the same: nobody is going to agree on all the particulars any time soon.
Telling private gun sellers to conduct thorough background checks can be extremely tough to enforce. Imagine you have a handgun that you’d like to sell so you can upgrade; your best friend wants to buy it. You know he’s not a felon, and you know that he’s not barred from owning a firearm in the state of Wisconsin. What would you do, knowing that unless a crime is committed with that firearm, nobody will ever know that you sold it to him?
Opponents of these mandatory background checks raise a valid point, too. The people we don’t want to have guns—those who are likely to commit crimes with them—will obtain guns illegally. A background check doesn’t do any good if it’s not done.
What’s your take? I’d love to hear what you think. Let us know here or on my Facebook page: should Wisconsin force mandatory background checks on all gun sales?
We’re all waiting for the rest of the 2013 statistics on Wisconsin gun crimes (the FBI has only released data from January to June 2013 so far), but the news is pretty grim: about 60 percent of the murders in our state involved firearms, and a huge number of crimes that didn’t involve death were firearm-related. It’s no wonder people always argue about
News from Attorney Carlos Gamino
Background Checks on Gun Sales in Wisconsin
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