I completed a background check to buy a gun in Huntsville; contrary to NRA claims, the hardest part was the waiting

Published on AL.com on January 02, 2014 at 12:28 PM, updated January 02, 2014 at 12:29PM

Tom Petty was right. Waiting was the hardest part. The line at Larry’s Pistol and Pawn Shop was long. A sign posted in the store stated that it could take up to two hours to be waited on. So I got back in my car and crossed the Parkway in Huntsville and walked into Gander Mountain. After less than five minutes, I had been waited on and now had to make a choice. I was looking for a target pistol, something accurate but cheap to shoot. The accountant in me came out and, having purchased other caliber ammo at a much higher price, so I settled on a .22-caliber Beretta. After choosing the gun, I had to fill out the background check paperwork, and then I waited.
 
Oh, what an intolerable wait, almost 15 minutes during which I browsed the aisles. Then I paid for my gun and walked out, gun in hand, lunch hour coming to a close.

Tom Petty was right. Waiting was the hardest part. I went online to get the paperwork, filled it out and drove down to the Madison County Courthouse. There, I went to the sherriff’s office and delivered the paperwork. Then the waiting began. This wait time was almost six weeks. I hope the background check to get a gun carry permit is a little more thorough than what it takes to buy a gun because the permit allows me to carry a concealed pistol in public. The Second Amendment grants the right to own a gun, but the right is not absolute. You cannot carry any gun you want to any place. You can’t own a machine gun without a special license. And of course, you can’t own rocket launchers or missiles.

Six weeks later, I revisited the sheriff’s office, decided on the laminated, picture card version of the permit, paid my money and left, permit in hand. I had my pistol. I had my permit. Were my rights violated by this process? Hardly. Yet the NRA argues that requiring background checks for all gun purchases is a violation of our rights, government tyranny. Can anyone explain how the process victimized me? Can anyone explain why they think my rights were violated? Can anyone explain why a background check should not be completed for every gun purchase? Background checks are required for purchases from licensed gun dealers, but not for private sales and transfers. I like to call it the meth dealer exception.

Requiring background checks for all gun transfers is now the law in Colorado. Critics there point out three potential problems with the requirement. First, some see this as a violation of their Second Amendment rights. This is nonsense. I went through a background check and I had my gun by the end of my lunch hour. Subjecting private sales does not stop anyone who can pass a background check from buying a gun.

The second objection is that some criminals will not follow the new law. This is true of all laws. Are there speeders in Alabama? Are murders committed? By extension, this argument can be used to eliminate speed limits and to make murder legal. The majority of citizens follow laws. Why do critics think that Americans will suddenly become scofflaws when it comes to background checks?

The third objection is that it will criminalize gifts of guns. Once again, this presumes that law-abiding citizens will suddenly refuse to follow the law. The gift of a car requires the transfer of a title. A background check is a smaller hurdle. Are gun rights advocates too lazy to comply with the law?

Expanded background checks will not stop all criminals from getting guns, but it is a start, an easy baby step.

 

After four months, Colorado’s experience is that 72 private sales were blocked because the applicant was under a restraining order or had been convicted of or charged with a serious crime. The vast majority of private sales went through despite the check. The impact of 72 sales that did not occur is hard to know (you can’t measure the number of crimes that were not committed), but no one can argue that Colorado would be better off if these sales had been completed.

Expanded background checks will not stop all criminals from getting guns, but it is a start, an easy baby step. Rights are accompanied by obligations, even in Alabama. Is the obligation to prove you have the right to own a gun too much to ask? Our Legislature has elected not to act, to continue to make it easy for criminals to skirt the law as they arm themselves. Not acting, allowing this loophole to continue, now that is criminal.