SEN. MANCHIN: PASSING UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECK BILL WILL BE DIFFICULT

Support for so-called “universal background checks” at gun shows is not what gun control proponents would like the general public to believe, according to the results of a national scientific poll of more than 1,200 Americans conducted in November by McKeon & Associates and released by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). After being informed that the vast majority of firearms sales at these shows are transacted by licensed retailers that already conduct such checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) as required by federal law, only 40 percent of respondents said that extension of “universal background checks” to private transactions at gun shows are necessary.

The poll results stand in contrast to the vague claim often reported in the media and attributed to gun control proponents without important contextual detail that 90 percent of Americans surveyed support “universal background checks.” The Americans polled also said by a combined 74 percent margin that conducting background checks against an incomplete database was not effective at all or not very effective while 54 percent said that requiring background checks for transferring guns between friends and family members was not at effective at all or not very effective in reducing violent crime.

The poll also discovered that 92 percent of Americans agree that the states should submit all records of persons federally prohibited from owning a firearm to NICS. On Sunday, POLITICO reported  U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) as saying that rounding up the votes on Capitol Hill to pass a bill mandating universal background checks for gun purchases in 2014 is going to be “difficult.”—courtesy NSSF