House Passes Biden-Backed Gun Control Bill That Makes Private Gun Sales Illegal

Democratic legislators in the House passed a gun control bill that would make it illegal to make private sales or transfers of guns not regulated with an FBI background check.

According to a USA Today report, this legislation, backed by President Joe Biden, was passed by the House on Thursday with a 227-204 vote. Eight GOP legislators voted in favor of it, including Reps. Fred Upton (Mich.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), and also, bill co-sponsor Christopher Smith (N.J.).

H.R. 8 was a bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.). He brought up this case on the House floor and presented it to the public on Twitter on Wednesday. He also claimed that 90 percent of Americans support this bill without providing any references.

Gun Control Bill Would Require Background Checks for Private Transfers

The legislation would require background checks to be made for all firearm sale in the country. It also wants to use the checks in place in the country to make sure people who are banned from owning guns would not be able to obtain guns.

The bill will make it illegal for a non-licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer to transfer a firearm to another non-licensed person. The only exception is if a licenced importer, manufacturer or dealer got the firearm to comply with the law.

If the Senate approves this legislation and if President Biden signs it to law, it would mean people giving, receiving or exchanging firearms with friends or other non-related people would be considered criminalized.

Dubbed as the “Bipartisan Background Checks act of 2021,” this piece of legislation also claimed that it will help protect life through intervention and prevention of firearm transfers that are not cleared by the FBI’s background check system.

This said background checks system, however, is flawed. It has cleared several mass murderers in the past. These include Stephen Paddock, who killed 58 people in Las Vegas back in 2017.

Additionally, with or without background checks, people who truly aim to acquire guns can get firearms elsewhere. One such place is the black market.

If the bill passes, legal gun owners who are law-abiding citizens will become criminals in the eyes of the law. However, these people should not be considered the problem. Yet, with legislation such as this, it would require all gun owners to register their firearms and receive approval.

Up Next:

• US Gun Sales Hit Record Levels in 2020
• Feinstein and Cicilline Introduces Gun Ban Bill In Senate
• House Passes 2 Gun Bills That Expand Background Checks