National Gun Registry is Coming

There’s no question that Joe Biden plans on being the most anti-Second Amendment president in history. Just look at his campaign website, it’s a liberal wish list of infringements and restrictions on guns and gun owners. He plans to implement an assault weapons ban similar to the one he co-authored in 1994. He also wants to place assault weapons and high-capacity (10+) magazines on the NFA list, meaning those who own them will be required to pay a $200 tax per item. 

Enter H.R. 8

One thing that’s coming, and coming soon, is a national gun registry. In 2019 the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. Despite being co-sponsored by five Republicans, it only garnered eight Republican YES votes when it was voted on, hardly “bipartisan”. H.R. 8 created a legal burden for law-abiding gun owners by requiring a background check nearly every time a gun changed hands, not just when they are bought and sold. For example, if I go to the shooting range with a buddy and want to let him shoot the new gun I purchased last week, we would be required to file a background check with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Thankfully, H.R. 8 passed the House but stalled in the Senate. But now, at the direction of President Joe Biden, the legislation has been renewed in 2021.

The amount of paperwork that would be created by a Universal Background Check law would be burdensome, but it could also be the basis for a gun registry. They are attempting to create a list of not only the owners of guns but of everyone who has handled a particular gun. Because only licensed dealers can conduct NICS background checks, this would create a literal mountain of paperwork for dealers. They are also required by law to keep records of the transfers that they facilitate. 

As Chris Cox, Director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action likes to point out, Universal Background Checks only affect law-abiding gun owners who purchase their guns legally. Criminals will continue to get their guns through black markets and on the streets. Gun owners know that criminals don’t follow gun laws. 

A new year brings…

The 2021 version of H.R. 8 was introduced on March 1st. All law-abiding gun owners should oppose this legislation. But it’s not enough just to oppose it. We need to contact our representatives and tell them to vote no on Universal Background Checks. They do not stop mass shootings, as Democrats would have you believe. The Parkland shooter passed a background check. The Sutherland Springs shooter passed a background check. The Las Vegas shooter passed a background check. The Orlando shooter passed a background check. The San Bernardino shooter passed a background check.

Remember, criminals don’t follow gun laws.