What happened?

  • The Biden administration has finalized a rule that requires people who sell firearms online and at gun shows to conduct background checks on their potential customers. [cnn.com, nbcnews.com, theguardian.com, commondreams.org, foxnews.com, nypost.com, breitbart.com, hannity.com, washingtontimes.com, theepochtimes.com]
  • The new rule aims to close the “gun show loophole” by increasing the requirements to obtain a federal firearms license (FFL) and more specifically defining what it means to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms, affecting an estimated 23,000 individuals. [cnn.com, nbcnews.com, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, foxnews.com, nypost.com, hannity.com, washingtontimes.com, theepochtimes.com]
  • The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in 2022, expanded the definition of engaging in the business of firearms dealing, and the new rule provides clarity on who must obtain a license. [cnn.com, nbcnews.com, foxnews.com, nypost.com]

What is Conservative media saying?

  • Critics argue the rule will effectively end private transactions, possibly including the inheritance of firearms within families, and is a step towards a national gun registry, while gun rights groups say it will criminalize the sale of a single gun without a background check. [theepochtimes.com, washingtontimes.com]
  • The administration predicts the rule will force some 20,000 firearms dealers to start conducting background checks, on top of the 80,000 federally-registered dealers already doing so. [foxnews.com, nypost.com]
  • The bipartisan legislation that led to the rule was negotiated by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Thom Tillis (R-NC), but Cornyn and Tillis now argue the administration is acting in a lawless and unconstitutional way. [nypost.com, foxnews.com]
  • The NRA Institute for Legislative Action called the rule “the latest Biden administration attack on law-abiding gun owners” and a “blatant attempt to coerce Americans to forgo legal activity with firearms.” [nypost.com]

What is Liberal media saying?

  • The rule aims to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and felons, and is the administration’s latest effort to combat gun violence across the country. [independent.co.uk]
  • The rule is likely to be challenged in court by gun rights activists, but the Biden administration is confident it would withstand legal challenges. [independent.co.uk]

Sources:

  • CNN
  • NBC News
  • The Guardian
  • CommonDreams.org
  • Fox News
  • New York Post
  • Breitbart.com
  • Hannity.com
  • Washington Times
  • The Epoch Times
  • Independent.co.uk