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The Daily Press weighs in on the delays in approving background checks, and thinks PVC ' response is "...over the top...".
http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-ed_gunpurchase_edit_0413apr13,0,6717157.story
Maybe you can have your cake and eat it, too. But in this economy, you cannot have your low-level user fees and your high-level user service.
Not if what you're looking for is a fast transaction when it comes to buying a gun.
In
Virginia, some gun buyers are experiencing delays. One of the consequences of the General Assembly's wringing billions of dollars out of the state budget is that it wrung out some jobs. Some were in unit at the State Police that processes background checks on gun purchasers.
This is the centerpiece of Virginia's attempt to keep guns out of the wrong hands. It goes only so far because the criminals know the "street market" doesn't do background checks. And it's always possible to take advantage of the loophole for unlicensed sellers at legitimate gun shows.
The background check requires consulting several databases in order to weed out the people prohibited by law from purchasing guns. That list includes those who have been convicted of or are under indictment for a felony or convicted of some serious misdemeanors; are subject to a protective order for harassing, stalking or threatening an "intimate partner" or child; have been found by a court to be incompetent or mentally incapacitated or involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital; were dishonorably discharged from the armed forces; are illegal immigrants; or have, within 36 months, been convicted twice of possession of marijuana or a controlled substance (once is no barrier).
The public, understandably, would agree that none of these people should have guns.
Gun buyers, understandably, would like their applications processed quickly, so they can finish their purchases and be on their way.
As law-abiding citizens, they should expect good service. But recently, it has been taking longer. That's due to a combination of greater demand — the number of checks in 2009 was up 7 percent from 2008, itself a record year — and less supply on the checking end. The number of staff to do background checks is down from 28 to 17.
But gun buyers, collectively, had a choice about this. The 2009 General Assembly considered a bill to raise the background check fee from $2 to $5, which the State Police says would be sufficient to staff the unit. You have to wonder how someone who found the extra $3 onerous could afford a gun and ammunition. But pro-gun groups worked to defeat the bill.
So some gun buyers are delayed, and gun dealers say the delays are costing them sales.
Those are the consequences. But there's no way to justify taking general tax money to subsidize this process when the money is needed for law enforcement and other critical services.
This basic lesson about getting what you pay for had one winning moment. Philip Van Cleave of the activist Virginia Citizens Defense League wins the "Over The Top, 'Round The Bend And Back Hyperbole Award" for this statement: "A person experiencing a death threat and who is denied a lawful gun purchase overnight would be left helpless at the hands of an assailant."
More than 287,000 background checks were run in Virginia last year. If the scenario Van Cleave laid out is anything but a rarity, if many of those 287,000 involve death threats, then we need to call up the National Guard, mobilize the militia, bar the doors and hide the women and children.
Here's a fun fact: The State Police in 2008 denied about 1 percent of the requests because the applicants were disqualified from owning a gun. And in the process of conducting background checks, 78 people who were wanted on criminal charges were identified and arrested. The process works.
And it was worth $5.
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Newport News, Va., Daily Press