麻豆传媒

The "gun show loophole" that allowed some buyers to purchase guns without going through a background check is now history thanks to a published Thursday by the Justice Department.

"Under this regulation, it will not matter if guns are sold on the internet, at a gun show, or at a brick-and-mortar store: if you sell guns predominantly to earn a profit, you must be licensed, and you must conduct background checks," Attorney General Merrick Garland said on a phone call with reporters Wednesday. "This regulation is a historic step in the Justice Department's fight against gun violence. It will save lives."

Under previous law, licensed gun dealers selling their wares had to run background checks on would-be buyers regardless of the location of the sale, but unlicensed gun dealers would sell guns at gun shows, flea markets, or in private transactions without doing background checks. That changed under the passed by Congress in 2022, which broadened the categories of gun sellers that were required to become licensed dealers and run background checks, explained Stefanie Feldman, director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

"In 2023, President Biden signed an to accelerate implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act," she said. "Now the Department of Justice is taking action."

The final rule also closes the "fire sale" loophole -- a similar exemption from running background checks for those gun dealers closing up shop and selling all their inventory -- "by clarifying how firearms dealers who go out of business or lose their license must go about liquidating their inventory," the attorney general said.

Vice President Harris also spoke on the call. "Today, gun violence is the leading cause of death for the children of America -- not car accidents, not some form of cancer. Gun violence," she said. "And you know, it just does not have to be this way."

"We know how to prevent these tragedies, and it's a false choice to suggest that you're either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone's guns away," Harris said. "I'm in favor of the Second Amendment, and I am in favor of reasonable gun safety laws."

When the Justice Department published the proposed regulation, it received 388,000 comments -- two-thirds of which were favorable, a senior department official said during a question-and-answer session. "About a quarter of the comments were opposed to the rule, and there were some that were either duplicative or we weren't able to determine exactly where they landed," the official said.

Although exact numbers are hard to come by, approximately 23,000 unlicensed gun dealers will be affected by the rule, he said. But there are some situations that will not be affected, such as occasional family firearm transfers; in addition, the rule "provides common sense clarity, to make sure that true hobbyists and true collectors can advance or liquidate their professional and personal collection without fear of violating the law."

The new rule should help prevent more domestic abusers from buying guns, the official said, noting that according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), "about a quarter million domestic abusers have been stopped by the background check system since 1998. Having more dealers become licensed will mean that when domestic abusers try to buy guns, they're going to be stopped by the background check system."

"One investigation found that one in nine individuals who try to buy guns online from private sellers would fail that check," he continued. "So we know it is essential to expand background checks to all sales to ensure that if someone's prohibited because of domestic abuse, or a protective order, that we could stop that sale from happening."

The administration also has implemented the , "so when that abuser tries to buy a gun and fails, a notification goes to local law enforcement so they can step in and take action and make sure they go investigate why someone who's prohibited because of domestic violence would be trying to buy a gun in the first place," the official added. "So we think this is directly connected, and that this is a very important tool to help keep guns out of the hands of prohibited and dangerous people."

The final rule will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

This story was corrected to reflect that the gun show loophole closure applies to unlicensed gun dealers; licensed dealers were already required to run background checks at gun shows.

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