Five Republican House members have joined the Democrat push to criminalize private gun sales.
The five are Reps. Peter King (R-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Brian Mast (R-FL).
King is a sponsor of the bill to criminalize private gun sales, standing with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) for more gun control. And Rep. Mast is continuing to show a penchant for gun control he first displayed after the Parkland school shooting, when he called for President Trump to enact a national ban on the sale of AR-15 rifles.
The push to criminalize private gun sales is being presented as a universal background check requirement. Such checks would require Americans to get government permission to sell a gun to a neighbor, a life-long friend, or a co-worker.
NPR reports that Rep. King said, “When background checks are used, they keep guns out of the hands of people we all agree shouldn’t have guns.”
King did not mention that Gabby Giffords’ attacker passed a background check for his gun, as did the November October 1, 2017, Las Vegas gunman, the June 12, 2016, Orlando Pulse gunman, the October 1, 2015, Umpqua Community College gunman, the May 23, 2014, Santa Barbara gunman, the July 20, 2012, Aurora movie theater gunman, and the November 5, 2009, Ft. Hood gunman, to name a few.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.