What is the worry in this group with universal background checks for private sales?

[branford]

16. I've repeatedly indicated that I support UBC's, at least in theory.

However, as always, the devil is in the details, and politics is complicated.

First, as others have noted, most UBC legislation is vague enough that something a minor as letting a friend try a gun at the range might require a background check. This is absurd, and rife for abuse, particularly in certain anti-gun jurisdictions.

Second, most UBC legislation requires detailed registration lists. While this may be a feature, and not a bug, to some, most gun owners and their supporters find it very objectionable. When you have the president and the leading Democratic presidential candidate citing Australia as a model for gun control (i.e., confiscation / involuntary buyback), these objections appear more than justified.

Third, UBC's are always offered as part of far broader gun control legislation, including assault weapon bans and magazine limits, that are far more objectionable. It's obvious that UBC's are little more than a Trojan Horse for other more severe restrictions. It poisons the well in any negotiations, makes compromise impossible, and gun control advocates have only themselves to blame.

Fourth, there's no real evidence that UBC's will have any demonstrable effect on firearm crime or deaths. For instance, virtually all mass shooters passed a background check, and in the case of the Charestown shooter, the government actually screwed-up the check. With people like Adam Lanza, not only would he have passed any check, he stole the weapons he used after killing his own mother to procure them. Most other shootings involve guns purchased in illegal transactions that similarly would not be affected by UBC's.

Lastly, and as evident by a mere perusal of the comments here, gun control is part of a cultural battle, and UBC's are meant as an incremental measure to change "gun culture." Accordingly, from a purely political perspective, why should gun rights proponents agree to UBC's without anything in return. For instance, I've always suggested UBC's and national firearm training standards in return for national concealed carry reciprocity that preempts state and local gun laws, particularly in "may issue" jurisdiction.