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I think not. It’s extremely difficult to buy a gun. There are dozens upon dozens of excellent firearms deserving of a buyer’s hard-earned money. How do you choose? Do you address the challenge intellectually or surrender to your emotions? And then there are financial considerations (and related relationship concerns). Like life itself, buying a gun is a bitch. And then you marry one. But that’s me. Twice. What about you? Do you find buying a gun easy?

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78 COMMENTS

    • It has been all too easy for me according to my wife….I walk into gun shop and there it is, lying in wait for me to helplessly step within range. Suddenly my eyes snap to the object in the glass counter, oh man, that is the WizBang 3000 I saw reviewed in American Rifleman last month. Then the evil sales guy pulls it out of the case and checks to verify empty and puts it in my hand. Oh man, that price is like 16% off retail. Against my will my hand is reaching for my wallet and pulling out my license and that darn debit card. No, stop me, my hands are filling out that 4473 form, and the next thing I know I am sitting in my car with another gun. Oh the wife is going to be so mad, maybe not if I tell her it is for our daughter.

      That is just the way it happened.

    • Having bought two guns this summer (a unusually fast pace for me), I can attest you’re right. It’s a royal pain in the ass. Tedious, even. But I demonstrated my conviction, and if someone will send me the money, I’ll do it as often as your thoughtful donations allow. Just to prove the point.

  1. Her words:

    “It’s very possible for someone who knows they wouldn’t pass a background check to legally own a gun.”

    Now the question is, does she know this is false, or did she do a lousy job researching this topic?

    • She seems to have contradicted herself. If they can’t pass a check because they are a felon on illegal drugs then they aren’t legal owners. The law only protects a private seller for not knowing someones history.
      Dealers at gun shows still have to do background checks, so its false to say its a loophole.

      Also, she fails to mention why the time out on background checks exists. Because politicians are well knowing for use alternative methods to get to their goals. They’d limit NICS access if they believed that would permanently restrict gun sales on a technicality.

      In the end these mass shooters often float through the check system or circumvent it, so expanding the process doesn’t prevent them from getting and using a weapon illegally.

  2. Why is the state of WA not highlighted when she talks about the “gun show loophole”?

    There is no *per sale* check, BUT – to my understanding from a buddy in Seattle – one has to pass a BG check to gain entry into the show (season of shows?).

    Anyone?

    • WA state now has an onerous UBC law in place for any “Transfer”. So yea, that’s wrong. Additionally the big shows do require a background check to be a member and be able to purchase/sell. Lastly 99% of the stands ant the shows in Western WA were manned by FFL’s so you had to have a BG check.

      So, if you had a CPL, Bought from a Gunshow in WA from an FFL, you had no less than 3 BG checks done.

      Remind me about this gunshow loophole again?

  3. I think buying a gun IS easy, and I like easy. Buying a car is also easy, and can be just as deadly if you have ill intent.

  4. It’s easier to get married in Vegas than to buy a gun in some ways or states. Buying a firearm in Utah from a dealer is probably as hard as getting hitched in Vegas. I guess it depends if you have a line to get your wedding license. I didn’t and so honestly it’s was a similar amount of time and effort. All in all yes it’s too difficult to buy a firearm in my state considering I can’t just hand the dealer my cc permit and be done with it. Buying from a private party is as easy as it should be unless the private party is a weirdo.

    • So you’re thesis is that “bad” marriages cause as much or more damage to humanity that legally owned firearms? Who could argue with that? Think of the chiluns.

  5. To do it properly, like buying a car with all the research, trying to find a range to rent what you are interested in, etc, it can be a PITA. Then are buying it, training, care, maintenance, purchasing the proper accessories for it (slings, holsters, cases, safes, cabinets, etc.) It can be quite a grueling task. Granted their are people that skip over a lot of that, and that’s their choice, but it can be quite difficult to purchase a firearm. Now even more so if you are a novice and have a dozen people telling you what to do. Oh, And the paper work isn’t the easiest for everyone to understand either.

    • A rock of crack , a tube of meth , a sack of oxies , a bag of weed , a pack of heroin , and a 38 snub ,
      EASY AS A PACK OF CIGERETTES , if you have the money and know what part of any town to go to . You can also trade for stolen goods apparently , weed eaters , lawn mowers , electronics etc.

  6. The woman is an uninformed/misinformed dunce. She has no idea what she is talking about and opens her mouth to expose her ignorance. Regardless of the laws passed, anyone who wants a gun can buy one without a lot of trouble even though it is not legal. Legal gun buyers go through a lot of crap that does nothing to keep guns from criminals. Laws only work for honest people.

    • totally agreed!

      But…am I the only one who was amazed at how FAST she went thru her diatribe? Or is my age showing? There were times when my ears just could not keep up with her mouth! That couldn’t be intentionally to get viewers/listeners confused when she was spouting invalid info…could it?

  7. Wherever I get into this topic, I have to ask the person I’m arguing with to quantify what “easy” means. When they think it’s too easy to legally obtain a gun in DC or NYC, they aren’t really worth debating.

  8. The logic escapes me, how can you “legally” own a gun if you can’t pass the NICS check? Answer: You can’t. Duh.

    I like the states where if you have a permission slip you don’t have to go through the background check BS for every purchase. Like, c’mon we paid for the license, jumped through the hoops, gave up our fingerprints, what’s changed?

    That being said, it’s a process not a purchase so it certainly could be easier.

    • The logic escapes me, how can you “legally” own a gun if you can’t pass the NICS check? Answer: The Second Amendment to The Constitution of the United States of America.

      FIFY

  9. The worst part about it is the “instant” check (last one took over an hour) and the fact that FFL’s will take advantage of their “special” status to pull shit like $50 tansfer fee.
    It isn’t unlike going to the DMV. How easy is it to register your car or renew your license? That’s about how easy it is to buy a gun. A lot of paperwork, stupid questions, unnecessary expense and way too much waiting for no apparent reason.
    Contrast that with getting my first fake ID. Easy peasy and instant. Or the underage purchasing of alcohol. Never a problem and took no time at all. From what I’ve heard same can be said for purchasing any black market “banned” items.

    It’s easier for a high school kid to buy any drug out there, booze, even a firearm from off the street than it is for me, a grown man with a professional career and no criminal record, to legally purchase just about anything. The high school kid has the advantage of one-stop shopping all under one roof. That public high-school.

    The It’s Always Sunny episode “Gun Fever II” is good quick jab at the ease of buying a gun.

  10. Pay close attention: the left does not talk about the ease of “buying” a gun, they talk about ease of “access” to a gun, then proposes a scheme that would mostly just result in a national registry of guns (if that is even successful). After the “buying” part I wonder what they want to do about “access?”

  11. I’m semi-retired and work part time behind the gun counter at a large store in Illinois. It is -not- too easy… the paper work is ridiculous. The 4473, Illinois pistol form, Illinois State Police background check, (delayed? more checking in with ISP to see if it’s approved) multiple sales receipts, 72 hours later the disposition forms more paper signing, second set of eyes signing off on the paperwork and finally walk the gun and customer to the door. And that’s just the front end dealings that the customer has to put up with.
    From what HM Obama has blathered I understand buying vegetables is more complicated than that. Good God I’m glad I don’t work at a grocery store.

  12. So, 0.7% of NICS searches since it started turned up unfavorable buyers. Seems like people who shouldn’t have guns don’t go to gun stores to buy their guns.

    • Oh so true. Not only do we have the 4473 and a NICS check, California does its own background check, and the ten day wait was enacted (used to be 15 at one point) to assure that the State has enough time to do so. Then there is the requirement of a Handgun Safety Certificate (now superseded by the Firearms Safety Certificate that is now required for long arm purchases as well) which is an easy 20 question multiple choice test, but it adds $25 to the transaction cost (must be renewed every two years). Plus our DROS is $25, and the transfer fee (variable depending upon where you buy the gun, higher for internet purchases, usually $75 these days). When buying a gun from the Internet, add $100 transaction fees and the shipping cost (resulting in zero savings more often than not, even if you cannot find the firearm you want locally). The only thing a CCW does for you is gets the requirement of the FSC waived, but not the background check, which is of course senseless, but so it goes.

      And then there is the dreaded Roster and other banned gun laws. The roster is down to 822 “permitted” new handguns, and all semiautos are limited to 10 rounds. All new pistols proposed for addition tot he roster must incorporate microstamping technology (which of course does not exist), which means no new pistols or major improvements to existing designs. New (not grandfathered) pistols must also include mag locks, loaded chamber indicators and external manual safeties There are some ways to get around the roster (be a cop, buy from a cop), but not the mag limit. Automatic weapons, SBRs and Barrett .50 cals are prohibited. All AR and AK type firearms must be “featureless” (don’t ask), or have a California Bullet Button that requires a tool (read: bullet tip) to remove the 10 round mag. All rifles have a minimum overall length limit and cannot have folding stocks.

      So yeah, it is a PITA to buy a gun in California.

      • Also, forgot that you can’t have factory ammo delivered to your door in the city of Sacramento. It requires a thumbprint. Just more bovine excrement from our political leaders.

      • Yep, you summarized it pretty well, though you forgot that handguns (and now long guns as well?) are registered by the state when you purchase them from an FFL or do a private party transfer. And that even for private party transfers, they must be done face to face, so if someone on Calguns has, say, a H&K Mark 23 they’re willing to sell (with a non-threaded barrel, naturally, thank you so called AWB) in Ukiah, and you’re in Coronado, they can’t mail it to your local FFL. Nope, one or both of you have to trek up to an FFL, sign paperwork, pay the DROS tax, then the buyer has to come back 10 days later, TO THE MINUTE, to retrieve their firearm. Yeah, the FFL is required to timestamp the submittal, thus if you signed at 1430 hours, you have to wait until 1430 ten calendar days later to take possession of your property.

        As bad as it is, it could be worse, like IL or NY, NJ or any other state that requires you to get a firearms permit to merely purchase a firearm. I imagine if Moonbeam or Kamala tried to implement something like that, they’d model it on the CCW scheme, making FOIDs issuable at the discretion of the sheriff.

        I punched out of CA last September for an awesome job here in DFW, and the arms laws here aren’t perfect (AZ, AK, VT and MT are Constitutional carry – open and concealed, and I think that might be the next one on the agenda in 2 years), but they’re light years ahead of CA and it’s ilk. I had to wait to land a job out here, otherwise I’d have pulled the rings years ago, and this is coming from a native San Diegan, born and raised. Yeah, I miss the mild summers (when I lived in Mira Mesa and was close enough to the ocean to reap the benefit of having a giant heatsink nearby) and warm winters, but the positives outweigh the negatives by many orders of magnitude.

        And y’all native Texans here, don’t worry. I came here to escape that lunacy and recombobulate my life and enjoy some freedom. I’m not in any hurry to help make Texas more like California.

  13. Dennis Prager questions to the president about gun control….

    What do you think would help more in the long run…..

    …more gun laws or more fathers?

    ….encouraging parents to lobby for more gun laws or encouraging parents to take their family to the church of their choice each weekend??

  14. Hmm… a three minute infomercial about how and why it’s so easy to buy a firearm in the USA and no mention of the fact that the Bill of Rights says ‘the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.’ I guess they don’t teach the constitution in school these days. I guess they didn’t mention that the Oregon shooter passed multiple background checks either, so maybe the point of this video wasn’t to be informative.

  15. In Illinois….FOID card and STILL have to have a BG check…

    THEN….CCW license…fingerprints…

    CDL with Hazmat…finger prints….

    Have had ‘Secret’ clearance…

    Born in US…

    Pay TAXES…..

    Make house, [2] car payments with all the associated other monthly bills…

    And my government STILL does not know who I am?

    Guns are as ‘easy to get’ as you make them! Just follow the rules of staying out of trouble and being responsible!

    What’s ‘HARD’ is putting up with those that DO NOT!

    IMHO we need a National ID!!!

    • A national ID for what? To exercise a constitutionally guaranteed right?
      No.

      Buying a gun in Illinois is ridiculous. The FOID card is an infringement, but they need to run a background check after you give them your card. Nothing but an asinine redundancy. And even though the results are instant, you have to go back 24 or 72 hours later to pickup your purchase.

      • My friend the problem lies in the complication of multiple IDs….and a dozen[At Least!] government agencies that do nothing but employ an overly expensive bunch of paper pushers!

        A SINGLE ID should combine every form of ID from credit cards, driver’s license. Medical info to voting information. SEVERE penalties for misuse and use the latest recognition abilities.

        If we do not EMBRACE technology it will, sooner or later, run all over us!…and that INCLUDES The Constitution!

        • A single ID —
          then we could print it in circuitry on people’s hands (or foreheads) so they couldn’t lose it. The state wouldn’t have to ask for papers; it could just scan you.

          Crap, that sounds familiar somehow…..

        • Roymond ,
          No need to implant anything , when nearly everyone is already willing and able to use the tiny computer in the palm of their hand to identify themselves and buy and sell , all over the world . There are four things in the world today that are 30 minutes and less than 10 miles from 99 % of every man woman and child on earth .
          1. A pack of cigarettes ( mostly Marlboros )
          2. A can of cola ( mostly Coke )
          3. A condom
          4. A cell phone ( in the palm of nearly hand on earth )
          When they’re ready to destroy paper money and coin and go digital , the gadget to convert everyone to the money cloud is already in place , it’s in the palm of your hand , just hold it to your forehead and call me .

  16. Until I can walk into a store, pay for the gun, and then walk out without having to perform any other step…or I can order one and have it shipped directly to my house…then it’s not easy enough.

  17. Wow just wow!
    I group up in a time where the Left didn’t lie.
    Truth be told this got me so interested in Gun Rights.
    In the the ’50s it wasn’t an Internet conspiracy theory that Blacks couldn’t eat in certain restaurants or that different groups were steered to live in certain neighborhoods. The Exxon Valdez actually happened. Those rich MFs coulda paid for a double walled hull but didn’t. Not a lie.
    Now in the name of our safety the lies, the fact picking, the demonization of people all for “our safety” just is atrocious!
    It’s true in my state there is a lot of paper work and a wait. Nearby it’s less so. Here it’s hard to buy a gun. Easy? Go black market. Can’t buy Heroin, Meth etc. at your local pharmacy? Sorry! Really! You’ll have to go black market. Advantages: Better customer service, interested in your return business, short wait time. See how the govt can’t compete? That’s their beef. 🙂

  18. I’ve had that debate before. “Why is it so easy?”

    Always turn an unfriendly question back on itself: what have you done that should prev not even out from owning a gun?

    “Well, nothing, but I haven’t been trained”.

    Personal problem; easily correctable, here are some good trainers phone numbers. At the same time though, good opportunity to talk mandatory firearm safety. Starting in Jr. High.

  19. The ease of buying a gun is precisely related to the amount of money you have, no more, no less. If you’re filthy rich with endless cash flow, then yeah, buying guns might get pretty easy. Otherwise it’s hard as hell and a massive pain the ass. Takes weeks and weeks, months sometimes, to save and scrape up for one. Especially those ‘grails’ that we all look at and wish we had.

    Tom

  20. The greatest difficulties are those that are unseen and, sometimes, those that don’t exist.

    At the retail FFL level, we all know the challenges. They include the whole ATF licensing procedure, operating regulations, legal liabilities, and excess costs and administrative efforts to keep up with everything. Most of that is back office hassle, which the customer doesn’t see directly. However, neither does he see the FFL that never comes into business because he doesn’t want to deal with all that nonsense.

    That customer doesn’t know that he faces higher prices, less choice, and reduced convenience because there are fewer FFLs in competition local to him. This hits kitchen table dealers, but also storefront dealers, too. Being more visible, they’re naturally a focus of anti-gunner enmity. Some of them argue the gun store shouldn’t be allowed to operate near a school, or near an infamous spree shooting site, or just near their own property for fear of its future effect on property values.

    Similar or worse public hue and cry and typical governmental byzantine regulations impact manufacturers, too. Seeing all this influences people not to enter the industry in the first place, not to manufacturer new technologies, depriving the world of firearms never designed and never built. Easy to buy a firearm? Try buying that one.

  21. If I’d put as much research into my fiance as I do my guns I wouldn’t be soooo happily divorced! I blame social media in all its forms for the alleged rise in mass shootings since 1999, not the availability of firearms. Want instant (in)fame(ity)?Post on Facebook etal.

  22. my last purchase was at a lawyers office downtown in the loop. i was on shift so i drove the work truck. that made parking easy (because utility, first responder etc.). stopped at the bank on the way there, layed out five crisp new bills, did some id photocopying, signed bills of sale and i was on my way with an omega trigger no less. because i wanted the upswept beaver tail.
    it could have been easier. he might have brought it to the tavern.
    eh, la.
    now i want a compact as well.

  23. I did a gun transfer today in Connecticut. Pistol was shipped from Florida to my transfer FFL, I filled out a 4473 as well as the State DPS-3c which has the description of the arm and who bought and sold it; one copy goes to the buyer one to the seller one to DESPP and one to local PD and a State DPS-67-c which is the states version of the 4473. Once all the questions are answered the dealer calls the DESPP to get an “authorization number” the DESPP asks for my permit number and the dealer his information. Once the authorization number is given it must be printed on all four copies of the DPS-3-c and on the DPS-67-c. The dealer is paid his fee we shake hand and I am on my way….

  24. No checks if you want to vote though, none whatsoever. My dog is going to vote in 2016. Actually, she is running for president in 2016. Vote Liberty 2016. (Her name is Liberty, the campaign practically writes itself)

  25. It is actually very difficult, it requires not ever breaking one of the many many laws that would make you a felon and not using drugs, plus never getting charged (whether actually guilty or done as revenge) of domestic violence. And all of that is during your entire LIFE!

  26. I live in Illinois and don’t think it’s that bad-UNTIL I go to nearby Indiana and it is almost literally nothing…Having a FOID and them still running checks and not granting CCL automatically also PO’s me. I’ve only been at this for 4 years so I just deal with it(like being married a few times RF)…

  27. For Non NFA Weapons NO for most states,
    There s somm gun friendly states as

    Florida
    North Carolina
    Nebraska
    Iowa
    Minnesotta

    white waiting period thats sux ore

    Nebraska
    Iowa
    Minnesotta
    North Carolina

    white purchase permit

    thats sux

  28. In NC, long guns require the usual paperwork/NICS check. Handguns? Now that’s a horse of a different color….
    If you already have a CC permit, it’s much like buying a long gun. If not, you have to get “permission” (a pistol purchase permit) from your local sheriff. Each purchase requires a separate permit.

  29. What other item has all the attention, paperwork and requirements? None, there is no other. I bought a replacement slingshot rubber-band at Walmart today and found out they have restriction that you must be able to prove you are 16 or older to buy one! This is how screwed up we are.

  30. My gawd, how desperate they are to cling to their beloved “gun show loophole” mantra. As she explained it in this video, the “loophole” exists in private sales. A gun show does not in any way contribute to the utilization of private sales.
    I see more private sales occur on facebook than I have ever seen at a gun show. Comparatively, a gun show is the worst place for a private seller to advertise a sale. It depends on a physical location and is thereby extremely limited to only those that can reach that location. Then, the seller, in effect, has to pay a fee just to attempt the sale. Either they pay an entry (and sometimes parking) fee to be at the gun show, or they rent a booth for a much higher fee none of which guarantees a sale. Then, the buyer must also pay an entry fee just to shop; also with no guarantee of finding what they want at the price they want.
    Of the numerous gun shows I have attended, the participation is about 90% FFL licensed dealers. All of which must run a background check for every gun sale. The other 10% are people selling peripheral items such as holsters, bags, knives, jewelery, optics, clothing, etc. Of that small percentage, a fraction of those people might be offering a coincidental private sale of a firearm. In other words, most private sellers aren’t at the gun show specifically to sell a gun.
    Now compare that to how many people you could reach from the comfort of your own home by using the internet to sell a gun. Even a newspaper ad could easily reach more prospective buyers than a gun show.
    Once again, Anti’s are all worked up about something that just really does not matter in any significant way…

  31. Easy in my state if buying a long gun and you pass the NICS check. Harder for a heater, 5-7 day waiting period for a permit thru the sheriff’s office or you gotta take a class, pay a lot of money, get finger printed, pass a NICS check and some sorta mental health treatment data base search, wait 3 months and get a CCW and then you can go buy all the heaters you want whenever you want no waiting.

  32. Here in AZ, buying a gun is relatively easy. The biggest obstacle is probably the cost. I’ve never had a NICS check last more than a few minutes, and I’ve only ever paid a fee for transfers (even then fees tend to be quite modest).

    However, buying the gun I want is oftentimes impossible. I’d like a P90–compact with a high fire rate–not a single-shot PS90 with the silly-long barrel. If we had a free market I would buy one. And maybe a silencer to go with it. I don’t think it’s an especially deadly firearm, not that it matters since I would not use it recklessly or intentionally to cause mayhem. I just find the design quirky and fascinating and I’d enjoy owning and shooting one. But I can’t.

    While I do own guns, I rarely carry these days. This is due to an onerous no-weapons policy at my place of work. It’s a “zero-tolerance” affair that extends to the parking lot, where they reserve the right to search vehicles (that are occasionally broken into, btw, which is my personal concern with keeping a firearm in my vehicle). It’s deeply ironic to me that this same very “safety-conscious” employer apparently has no action plan to deal with an active shooter situation. But, hey, I like making money and workplace shootings are exceedingly rare, so I take my chances.

    The workplace policy alone is enough to disarm me on workdays, but even if I could carry at work I’d still have to deal with the No Guns signs outside the office. They carry force of law here. To some degree I am in control of which businesses I choose to patronize, but I also enjoy eating lunch with my coworkers, and “the group” is not going to reject destinations based on their GFZ-status when we vote on where to eat. Plus, constitutional carry doesn’t cover any restaurant that serves alcohol to be consumed on the premises, so Chipotle is off-limits thanks to their Patron margaritas (really?) unless you have a carry permit.

    So, the reality is that it is and was pretty easy to purchase a gun here in AZ, but it’s not altogether practical or easy to legally carry one. Yes, it’s better here than a great many places in the U.S., but it’s still not as free as it should be.

    • SB 1168 – Prevents any private or public employer, property owner, etc., from banning any person from keeping a firearm in a locked vehicle in a parking area on the property, with specific limited exceptions.
      I haven’t read the exceptions, but I’m curious if your company fits those exceptions or if they rely on their employees ignorance of the law.

      I agree that it is relatively easy to buy a gun in AZ, but the question is, is it TOO easy. My answer, NO.

      • Thanks, WuzNtMe, I’ll look into that statute. I wouldn’t doubt they’re totally ignorant of the law.

        Still, thinking of leaving a firearm locked up in the parking lot, the thought frustrates me. The firearm and I are both safer if I’m able to keep it under my immediate control. I’m also thinking of developments in the NAU shooting story–I read one news story with a statement from the shooter that he had retreated to his vehicle, retrieved his gun and fired it after he warned two people that he had a gun and they continued to approach him. I read another story that attributed a statement to the police that the shooter retrieved his vehicle and returned to the scene. He is charged with murder. So, if a workplace shooting happened and I made it to my vehicle, what good will a gun do me at that point? I dunno.

        In any case, I appreciate the info on SB 1168, and I agree wholeheartedly that, no, it is not *too* easy to buy a gun.

  33. I live in California and find the gun laws that have been passed preclude my ability as a discerning consumer to freely choose which gun I can afford to purchase. I plan to move in the spring to a state with some real common sense gun laws, namely if I can pay for it, I can buy it. I have been nearly legislated out of a choice for handgun purchases, and a major concern of mine is that it’s NO ONE’S business what firearm I own, granted that is the name of the game no matter where you live in our nation but I just cant help but think that as things continue to deteriorate in this country, the lists of gun owners will be used to infringe our rights.

  34. I have the right to protect myself and if you don’t like it tough $hit. I was USAF military police honorably discharged.
    No double standards put DC politicians on Obamacare and SS.Thanks for your support and vote.Pass the word. mrpresident2016.com

  35. It’s hard to buy guns. First you have to go to work to get money to buy them, then save up, then decide which one, etc…

    Especially if you want something like an stg44 (is that what she’s got in the video? I only saw the still image). Those things are like 3000 bucks. I think I’m just going to get one of the .22 versions for a couple hundred.

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