Reply to "The Right To Bear Arms"

In response to "The Right To Bear Arms", I do agree with you that we need to stop selling guns to the mentally ill and there needs to be more control over who is and is not able to own a firearm.  I am, for the most part, for universal background checks because it would stop some of the loopholes that are available for people to buy firearms.  However, some of the things you have stated are not true or misleading.

Texas is NOT a state where anyone can purchase and carry a gun legally.  In fact there is no such state.  There are federal laws that prevent this such as The Gun Control Act of 1968, which prohibits individuals from purchasing firearms that fall under the following:

1.     Is under indictment for, or has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;

2.     Is a fugitive from justice;

3.     Is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act)

4.     Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution;

5.     Who, being an alien, is illegally or unlawfully in the United States

6.     Who has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions

7.     Who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship; or

8.     Is subject to a court order that restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such inmated partner or person. (someone with a restraining order)

Also, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, which established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and raised the age to leally purchase a handgun and ammunition to 21 years of age. This system is used today by anyone that tries to purchase a firearm from any federally licensed dealer.

So not anyone can legally purchase a firearm.  However, there are loopholes within these acts. These loopholes include “private transactions” which can take place at gun shows (It is important to note that at many gun shows have many dealers with a federal license that perform the required check) or between friends or family members.  Even still it is illegal to sell weapons to the people that fall under any of the categories stated above "private transaction" or not.

The real question is will universal background checks have any real effect.  Many names never get entered into the database.  For instance the Virginia Tech shooter passed through two background checks because Virginia never submitted his mentally ill status to the database. 23 states and the District of Columbia have submitted fewer than 100 mental health records to the federal database. 17 have submitted fewer than 10 and 4 have not submitted any.  33 states have not submitted any records to the controlled substance file in NICS. 

Many Senators and Representatives are pushing for gun control and universal background checks yet don’t even have their own state send in records to try and stop some of these individuals from owning firearms. 

Also Texas is NOT a state where anyone can legally carry a weapon.  It is not an easy process to get a concealed carry permit.  Not only do you need state and federal background checks but also you must have a record of your fingerprints taken as well attend and pass a course (course is usually a total of 10-15 hrs.) that proves you know how to handle and fire such a weapon and pay all required fees.