NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Biden administration is hoping to close a loophole within gun sales which currently allows firearms to be sold privately without background checks at events like gun shows.
The administration said it could save lives, reducing the number of guns sold without those checks, hoping to keep them out of the hands of criminals.
Critics are calling it one of the biggest attempts to regulate the sale of firearms in years. The proposed rule would essentially say that anyone who deals in firearms for profit must get a federal license and conduct criminal background checks regardless of whether they sell the guns in brick-and-mortar stores, gun shows, flea markets or on the internet.
Last year, the President signed the Safer Communities Act which expanded background checks, but kept the so called gun show loophole in place. It's allowed a vast number of private sales to take place without background checks getting guns more easily in criminals hands who may have failed a check from licensed gun sellers. This was the case in the 2019 Midland-Odessa, Texas shooting which left eight people dead.
This move is part of a nationwide effort as gun violence continues to rise.
