I understood that the background checks took time, and had to be done by a law enforcement agency to check for felony convictions, etc. Gun dealers wouldn't have access to those files. If I'm wrong, then I'm fine without the waiting period. I just want a FULL background check, including those with mental illness.
State dependent. My purchase took about 30 minutes, it's usually around 20-45 depending on how quickly you can accurately fill out the paperwork and how quickly the ATF can be contacted. Usually it takes longer on weekends as a lot of people are purchasing during off days and the phones get a little backed up. Waiting periods are typically state specific, they basically say the gun is yours but you can't have it until they say so, tends to be between 1-3 weeks. Louisiana doesn't have a waiting period so my property was in had as soon as the ATF issued the ok. New York I think is seven days, Cali takes IIRC two weeks.
My feeling is that if a FULL background check is done at purchase, even if it takes a few days, then that gun belongs to that person and he/she should automatically be allowed to carry either open or concealed.
I don't have a problem with a CCW requirement because any idiot can hide a gun, those who do so legally won't take that priviledge lightly and tend to have less gun charges than any catagory. The reason I don't mind CCW is that if a person is concealing with no license and stopped for another crime this gets someone off the street that may have used that weapon in a violent act. It's one of the small percentage of gun laws I actually think is workable and reasonable.
Let me tell you why I feel that they should go through licensed dealers. We need to be able to track a gun through several owners, so if it ends up back at the scene of a crime, law enforcement has a tool.
If a private sale is done correctly with a notary or witness and the numbers are put on a receipt it would still be pretty easy to track provided there is no tampering. If I sold my arms privately I would personally cover all bases just in case, don't really need a dealer for that. Basically if I were questioned I would show the notarized receipt with purchaser, serial #, and an emphatic "not me".
They should also have to be reported as stolen... law, not optional... and when a licensed gun dealer conducts the private sale, he would have the information available to make certain the gun has not been stolen and the registered owner is indeed the person who legitimately bought the gun.
Here's the thing I don't like about a mandatory report, some people may not realize their guns are stolen until it becomes a questioning issue, there was a movement to force reporting within 24 hours of theft but that leads to further issues such as "How am I supposed to know my weapon was stolen exactly 24 hours ago or less?", "What if it's stolen while I'm away and I can't find out during the window?", "Even though it's a good idea to report a stolen weapon, I don't like ultimatums" things like that.
I will say that I would report if my gun was stolen for my own self-preservation, my biggest concern is to have my weapon used in a crime and having to answer police questions about it and I would hate for someone to misuse my weapon to injure an innocent(but I take responsibility for my property). FFL dealers to my knowledge are not allowed to conduct a private sale, even their own guns. One other thing, many stolen arms tend to become "filed guns" that is the serial numbers are removed to prevent tracing them back to a crime, which is a second and very serious federal charge.