...But as another interesting anomaly, polls seem pretty consistent in claiming around 90+ of Americans desire to see background checks. If so, I wonder if the 67% supporting number, can allude to 23% not happy the measure was done by EO? Or perhaps there's a polling discrepancy?
I agree that it appears many Americans, both gun control and gun rights supporters, seem to think background checks are a good idea.
When it comes to gun control advocates it's because many honestly think this is a good preventative measure that may help in some way to reduce criminal use of guns.
When it comes to gun control advocates, I believe its because they have bought into this theory and
don't expect the restrictions to ever apply to them.
I have several problems with background checks. First the fact that historically similar steps have been used to disarm large segments of populations. Second, while it was sold as a rational restriction to prevent violent criminals and the insane from access to guns (at least that's how I seem to remember it being advertised way back when), once in Congress it was expanded. There are NINE current categories,
only two of which deal with convicted felons and the insane. Even the convicted felons is not limited to violent or repeat offenders but anyone convicted of a felony or
any crime a judge can sentence to prison for more than one year.
There is
the drug use/addiction restriction. Does not require a conviction. There is the
Dishonorable Discharge restriction. Many UCMJ charges have no civilian equivalents (like AWOL). There is the
restraining order restriction. Occurs many times in messy divorces. There is the
renouncing of citizenship restriction. Why would this eliminate a right to buy a gun? There is the
under indictment restriction. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
The concern I have with the
felony conviction restriction is that we have 65 million citizens with criminal records, a sizeable number of those have some felony conviction or other. There is already a problem with trying to re-integrate after a criminal conviction because of difficulty getting jobs, renting an apartment or buying a home, voting in some States. Why should person who has done the time for a crime suffer additional limits on liberties and rights forever-after because most can only regain rights via the almost impossible to obtain Governor's pardon?
Still,
the biggest problem I have, is that
the limits can always be amended to include more and more classes of people. To administratively deprive citizens of the right to keep and bear arms by cutting off access to purchases. What good is a right if you have no way to exercise it?