GOFRO supports universal background checks on all gun sales to help save lives. The resources below help explain why:
Giffords Law Center: Universal Background Checks
Though more than 90% of the American public supports background checks for all gun sales, a dangerous and deadly loophole in federal gun laws still exempts unlicensed sellers from having to perform any background check whatsoever before selling a firearm. With this loophole, guns easily find their way into the hands of illegal buyers and gun traffickers, dramatically increasing the likelihood of gun murders and suicides.
Science Daily: Tighter background checks associated with fewer firearm deaths
Research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham reveals that in general, states that require more comprehensive background checks before gun purchases also have fewer homicide and suicide deaths by firearm.
Science Daily: Repeal of Missouri's background check law associated with increase in state's murders
Missouri's 2007 repeal of its permit-to-purchase (PTP) handgun law, which required all handgun purchasers to obtain a license verifying that they have passed a background check, contributed to a sixteen percent increase in Missouri's murder rate, according to a 2014 study from researchers with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.
The Washington Post: Why expanding background checks would, in fact, reduce gun crime
Daniel Webster, a leading expert on gun violence, and the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, responds to arguments against background checks.