Is A Background Check Needed If I Buy A Gun Personally?

In 2021, President Biden said people could buy firearms at gun shows without background checks. That'south truthful for private sales but not federally licensed dealers.

The shooting at Robb Elementary Schoolhouse in Uvalde, Texas has reignited debate over groundwork checks earlier purchasing a firearm. In 2021, VERIFY fact-checked statements made by President Biden nearly background check requirements at gun shows.

President Joe Biden on Apr eight, 2021 announced a half-dozen executive orders focused on gun command measures he believes would assist limit gun violence in the United States. During his oral communication, Biden said people who buy firearms at a gun show don't have to pass a background cheque.

That claim was met with strong critique from some people on social media, saying Biden's statement was false.

THE QUESTION

Are groundwork checks required for people who buy guns at gun shows?

THE SOURCES

THE Respond

This claim needs context. Background checks are required at gun shows for purchases from federally licensed firearms dealers. But not every seller at a gun evidence is a federally licensed to sell firearms, which can lead to the private sales of guns without a groundwork check.

Some states have passed their own background cheque laws that go beyond federal law.

WHAT Nosotros Establish

During his April 8 speech announcing plans to impose new regulations on gun buying, Biden said, "Most people don't know: If y'all walk into a shop and you buy a gun, you have a background check. But you go to a gun show, you can buy whatsoever you want and no background check."

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) defines a dealer in firearms every bit "a person who devotes time, attending, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or concern with the chief objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms." People who purchase a gun from a federal firearms license dealer must undergo a groundwork check, regardless of where the gun sold, co-ordinate to the ATF.

Kris Brownish, president of Brady United Against Gun Violence, a nonprofit that advocates for gun control measures, said the federal firearms license dealer sends the buyer'south name, identification and related information to the FBI. The FBI then runs that information through various databases to determine if the heir-apparent is eligible to purchase the gun. In that location are several reasons a person may not be allowed to buy a gun, including being convicted of a crime that led to imprisonment for a year or more than, according to the ATF. The background check process takes seconds well-nigh of the time, Brown said.

The ATF's definition of a federal firearms license dealer doesn't cover everyone who sells a gun, though. The agency says people don't need to become a federal firearms license dealer if they brand "occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms."

That leaves the door open for the private sale of firearms by unlicensed sellers, who typically don't have access to background checks, according to the ATF.

"Although it's legal under federal law for a private seller to sell a firearm to a resident of his or her own country, private sellers accept no way of checking to come across if the buyer is legally able to possess a firearm," the ATF says.

Brown said this is where some sales at gun shows can go unchecked. A study published in 2017 in the Annals of Internal Medicine said that 22% of gun owners reported buying their most recent firearm without a groundwork cheque.

Some states take passed their ain background check laws that get beyond federal constabulary. According to Brady United Against Gun Violence, 22 states and Washington D.C. have expanded background checks "to at least some private sales."

"Some states have passed their own background check laws that get across federal constabulary. According to Brady United Against Gun Violence, 22 states and Washington D.C. have expanded background checks "to at least some individual sales."