Letters to the editor for April 8, 2021
The Gainesville Sun
Life-saving legislation
With mass shootings dominating headlines, the national debate about what we should, and shouldn’t, do to address gun violence has intensified. The one thing most of us seem to agree on is that current laws prohibiting people with felony or domestic violence convictions or dangerous mental illness from owning guns make sense.
Those wary of new legislation argue we should enforce these laws before considering additional measures. The background-check bills currently in the Senate would do just that!
Federal law requires licensed dealers to run background checks on gun sales. But in states without supplemental laws, like Florida, private sellers — whether online, at gun shows or across town — aren’t required to check buyers’ legal eligibility. Consequently, nearly one-quarter of U.S. buyers purchase guns with no background check.