Fact Checkers Say The Facts Are On Obama's Side When It Comes To Guns

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Fact checkers found that President Obama was telling the truth when he said that violent felons can buy a gun online without a background check.

PolitiFact looked at President Obama’s claim about the ease of buying weapons without a background check, “The problem is some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules. A violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the Internet with no background check, no questions asked.”

The fact checkers found that Obama’s statement was true:

So a violent felon could buy a gun from a hobbyist over the Internet because he or she would not be subject to a background check. The purchase would still be illegal, because of the buyer’s felon status, but it would not create an immediate red flag. The same thing can happen at a gun show.

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Obama said, “A violent felon can buy (a gun) over the Internet with no background check, no questions asked.”

The kind of transaction Obama described is possible, though illegal, and more complicated than his comment suggests. Federal law prohibits felons from buying guns. But with some effort, they can purchase guns from private sellers over the Internet without getting caught, because private sellers are not required to run background checks. That seller would have to be in the same state as the buyer.

The problem for Republicans is that the facts keep getting in the way of their talking points. Obama and the Democrats are telling the truth about the ease of acquiring a weapon in the United States. The weapons industry has filled the law with so many loopholes that the gun laws that Republicans claim just need to be enforced are practically worthless.

Years of catering to the NRA has left this country with gun laws that protect the “rights” of criminals and potential terrorists to buy guns. The current mindset is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind for the Second Amendment.

Expanding background checks is not the same thing as a confiscation of guns. If an individual can’t pass a background, they shouldn’t be allowed to buy a gun. Like Obama’s executive orders basic gun safety is common sense, and this president has not only logic but also the facts on his side.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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