theneointellectual: Why I oppose universal background checks. #tcot #tlot #2ndamendment

While there is reason to doubt the oft repeated claim that 40% of gun sales do not undergo background checks (fn1) I am extremely skeptical of any proposal to require universal background checks in any event.
First though I am not a lawyer,I doubt that the Federal government has any Constitutional authority to regulate the intra-state sale or transfer of firearms ;or any intra-state commerce for that matter. ( I speak of the actual Constitution,not the so-called ”living Constitution” that liberals have concocted to kill the real one) .
Some may say that this makes no difference since the Constitution is being violated anyway, but that makes as much sense as saying that two wrongs make a right.
However there are two other reasons:

1. I am sympathetic to the idea that background checks themselves may be a form of ”preventive law” & as such I would oppose them as a reversal of the burden of proof;just as drivers licenses are. ( And if someone kills someone else in a accident because they do not know how to drive? Charge them with involuntary manslaughter.)
Similiarly if the police find a convict in possession of a firearm, arrest them. If they find that someone is knowingly selling to a criminal, arrest them then, just as we do with private citizens such as a girlfriend who buys a gun for her criminal boyfriend.

2. I fear that this will result in the creation of a illegal national database of guns & gun owners.

To understand why ,it is necessary to first understand what the existing gun laws are. At present there is no Federal requirement for background checks for guns sold or traded at gun shows or for background checks for gifts of guns between friends & family members. There is a federal requirement for all sales & transfers that go through a FFL holding gun dealer (essentially all store bought guns) . And many states require that you have a background check for purchases made at gun shows, but there is no federal requirement for this ( at least not for Class 1 guns, a category which basically includes all firearms except for silencers & Fully automatic guns ,& certain short barreled shotguns & rifles). The existing law also states that when a FFL licensed dealer goes bankrupt his records are taken by the ATF. Under the McClure-Volkmer Firearm Owners Protection Act passed in response to abuses carried out by the ATF it is ILLEGAL for the ATF to maintain a dat abase of lawful gun owners.(fn2) Notwithstanding that law, there have been anecdotal reports that the ATF is doing exactly that. (fn3)
Gun registration is a necessary pre-condition of gun confiscation,that is why it is opposed so ferociously by American Gun Owners,they have seen what happened in Britain,Australia & Canada. (fn4)

What's more we must remember the current context, the ATF ,under instructions from the Justice Dept, pressured gun dealers to sell guns to known straw purchasers,the result being the deaths of at least two & as many as 300 people. (fn5)
Given this & given the contempt demonstrated by this administration for the Constitution why should we trust that requiring universal background checks will not simply result in providing the government with a list of all gun owners?
Even if one regarded this proposal as being acceptable in some sane society what relevance does that have in our insane world? It is not hypocritical to argue that while some powers should never be entrusted to any government ( e.g. censorship), some might be justifiable in some ideal circumstance but might be too dangerous to entrust to someone who demonstrated a wanton disregard for the rule of law. Suppose Nixon had not resigned & they could not impeach him? Would anyone argue that it was unjust to take Watergate into account before passing laws giving the President additional powers?
At a minimum any proposal for universal background checks must adequately address these concerns,if not I will oppose it.