(NationalUSNews.com) — On Thursday, April 11th, the Biden administration announced new regulation that will close the “gun show loophole” that has been such an area of contention for years.
Currently, guns purchased at gun shows or online do not carry the requirement of a background check in all states. As this new legislation is federal, it will now set the requirement of a full background check for all gun sales made by all licensed gun dealers. The new regulations will be much tighter thanks to the 2022 bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which expanded the legal definition of who would be considered official gun dealers to include anyone who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing firearms regularly for profit. It would not include one-time sales to friends or family.
The attorney general, Merrick Garland, commented that this is a “historic step” in the fight against gun violence, emphasizing his firm belief that it would save lives. The new legislation is expected to reclassify around 23,000 vendors, which would require them to follow all the laws and regulations that licensed firearms dealers are expected to adhere to. Garland added that anyone who sells guns to earn a profit should be licensed.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is expected to fight back against the new rules, as well as some prominent Republicans. The White House has indicated they are expecting court challenges by some pro-gun groups, but they are confident they will win them. The new regulations will go into effect 30 days after they are published in the federal registry. President Joe Biden is far from finished with his battle for more gun control, as he exhorted Congress to pass legislation for universal background checks in a video on Thursday.
Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn has condemned the new regulation as unconstitutional. Along with North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis, he is planning to put forth a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act. Such a joint resolution can be used to overturn a new federal agency rule and block those who created it from issuing similar rules in the future. However, as this would need to be passed by both houses of Congress in identical form and then sent to the president for approval or passed over a presidential veto by two-thirds of the members of each house, it seems unlikely it will have that effect.
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