Rep. McCarthy introducing national gun control legislation following Sen. Schumer’s lead

In his op-ed, Obama stressed that the country should be “enforcing the laws already on the books,” and both gun-rights and gun-control advocates have expressed concerns that current firearms requirements are not being met. Gun-rights advocates, however, have called recently proposed legislation and publicity-seeking efforts of Bloomberg, cynical politicking in the wake of a tragedy. These critics, who have been winning legal ground the past few years, say that gun-control advocates are looking to restrict 2nd amendment rights any way they can, and not have any “common sense” debate.

Aside from the various proposals and arguments over legislation, legislators seem focused on one key aspect of the national firearms debate.

Since the Brady Act was signed into law in 1993, control-control advocates, including Rep. McCarthy, have targeted the “gun show loophole.” Although many states require gun-owner to register their firearms, the “loophole” allows any gun owner to conduct individual private sales without performing a full background check on the purchaser. Both Schumer’s bill and McCarthy’s propose requiring background checks for every firearm sold in the United States.

Although some data indicates otherwise, gun-control advocates claim criminals and those prohibited from obtaining firearms according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICBC) can purchase weapons at these large congregations of private gun sellers.

Specific legislation to close the “gun show loophole” has been introduced in nearly every Congress since the Brady Act was passed and McCarthy has been a key figure in the annual fight. The representative has sponsored legislation specifically targeting gun shows at least six times in the past 11 years, including the most recent Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2011. McCarthy’s draft bill is exactly like Schumer’s most recent senate bill, however, in that it offers general prohibitions against any “unlicensed transferor.” Gun shows are not specifically mentioned in either the bill but it essentially means anyone who is not a licensed firearms dealer or any agent of the state capable of conducting immediate background checks.

Another key concerns of gun-control advocates, the availability of high-capacity magazine clips, is not mentioned in either bill.

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