Citation

Kleck GD. J. Crime Justice 2021; 44(4): 414-418.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Midwestern Criminal Justice Association, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/0735648X.2020.1815555

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Some states have enacted laws extending background checks on persons seeking to acquire a firearm to cover gun transfers among private persons, not just those involving licensed gun dealers. The same kind of law has been proposed at the federal level. The effectiveness of 'universal background checks' (UBCs) is dependent on how many people seeking to acquire a gun from a private party comply with the required background check. Data on background checks on attempted private transfers were combined with estimates of total private gun acquisitions (with or without checks), and the results indicated that only 10.6% of private transfers in Colorado in 2019 and 3.5% of those in Oregon in 2017 were subjected to a state-mandated background check.

Language: en

Keywords

Background checks; compliance; gun control