WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden’s administration moved on Thursday to close loopholes that allow people to sell guns without a dealer license, which would need them to perform background checks on purchasers.
The Justice Department issued detailed rules that follow President Biden-backed Safer Communities Act approved by Congress in June last year in reaction to the large number of shooting deaths — particularly in mass shootings — across the United States.
The rules are aimed at gaps in the law that have allowed gun dealers to avoid obtaining licenses by claiming not to earn money from transactions or by saying their lack of a storefront or minor sales volume exempts them from dealer conditions, AFP reported.
It also tightens the rules on collectors who purchaze and sell guns and on failed gun dealers selling their inventories.
Law aimed at gun control
The Justice Department said that the aim of the move is to force more firearms dealers to check the backgrounds of prospective purchasers in a national database to screen out felons and others banned from owning guns.
It also enable the government to better track registered firearms from owner to owner.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives director Steven Dettelbach said that an increasing number of people engaged in the trade of selling firearms for profit have opted not to register as federal firearms licensees, as needed by law.
He said in a statement that instead, they have tried to earn money through the off-book and illicit sale of firearms.
The Justice Department said unlicensed dealing violates federal rules aimed at increasing gun safety.
Karine Jean-Pierre, White House spokeswoman, said that it is just common sense because background checks are one of the best tools to keep dangerous weapons out of the reach of criminals.
