Coburn Accused of Stalling Senate Talks on Background Checks

The Hill reported yesterday that talks on imposing so-called "universal background checks" (UBCs) have hit a snag in the Senate and some in the gun ban lobby are saying one of the gang of four, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, is not negotiating in good faith.

Schumer argues — and gun control groups agree — that records must be kept to ensure background checks are conducted before private transactions. Otherwise, any expansion of background checks would be unenforceable, they assert.

But Coburn worries that such a paperwork requirement could lead to a national gun registry, which gun rights groups staunchly oppose, according to Senate sources familiar with the talks.

This should convince even the most skeptical that the ultimate goal of those pushing for background checks on the private sale of firearms.  But it gets better:

“It’s the fundamental building block of any serious gun violence prevention system,” said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

Horwitz said Coburn’s opposition to requiring records for private background checks calls into question whether the GOP lawmaker really supports expanded checks.

“It’s such a non-issue to me, the whole thing seems like a big stall tactic,” he said. “Saying there shouldn’t be a record, to me, is not negotiating in good faith.”

Despite evidence to the contrary, those pushing the UBCs still throw out the "40% of firearm sales do not undergo background checks" to show the importance of UBCs.  The actual number is actually closer to 10% and if that number were well known by the public, it would likely reduce the support for requiring background checks on sales between friends or fellow gun club members.