The Business of Guns

a filibuster led by the Senate Republicans. However, a swath of mass shootings in 2019 returned the public eye to the expansion of background checks, with Republican president Donald Trump and Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell voicing support for the consideration (although not necessarily the passage) of the bill. Critics of the Manchin–Toomey bill point out that private sales would remain unregulated. Requiring online sales to include a background check would not eliminate the gun show loophole, nor would online sites that allow users to exchange contact information have any way to demand that the users go through a federally licensed dealer. Finally, it would be difficult for this law to be enforced if copycat websites or copycat exchanges promise on the surface to sell something that’s not a firearm, even if it matches the description of a firearm. Gun freedom advocates argue that an exchange between friends or neighbors could be complicated or outlawed simply if information about the exchange were to be posted online, such as a social media photograph of the gun, limiting the ability of everyday Americans to buy and sell firearms without government intrusion. Former senator Jeff Flake of Arizona stated that the Manchin–Toomey bill “goes too far” in expanding background checks for private sales. Furthermore, the gun freedom lobby criticized the expansion of background checks, claiming it would make Americans less safe rather than more safe. NRA leader Wayne LaPierre denounced Manchin–Toomey as “soundbite solutions” that “would make millions of law-abiding Americans less safe and less able to defend themselves and their loved ones.” Joseph Vince, a former ATF agent, offers a different perspective on Manchin–Toomey: “It’s not that the laws are ineffective,” said Vince, “it’s that they’re so weak. With the legislation in place, it’s incredibly difficult for law enforcement to track down guns that emerge from the secondary market.”

The Business of Guns

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