A new survey shows just how many firearms are purchased without a background check, and the number will shock you because it’s lower than people realize.
The survey, conducted by Harvard and Northeastern universities and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, determined that only 22 percent of gun owners purchased a firearm without a background check. The survey also found that gun owners are less likely to avoid a background check in states with universal background checks.
“We’ve been moving in the right direction,” Harvard researcher Deborah Azael told The Guardian.
The 22 percent figure is much lower than the figure constantly used by Democrat politicians. President Barack Obama frequently stated that 40 percent of firearms were purchased without a background check in 2012 after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and Hillary Clinton used the same figure during the 2016 campaign.
The 40 percent figure stems from “an extrapolation from a 1994 survey.” The more recent 22 percent figure suggests that the 40 percent figure championed by Obama and Clinton is clearly out of date.
That hasn’t stopped leftists from pushing for gun control.
“The headline is that we as a nation are closer to having 100% of gun transactions with a background check than we might have thought,” Phil Cook, who conducted the 1994 survey and researches gun violence at Duke University, told The Guardian. “So, it’s more attainable, and cheaper, to pass a universal requirement than it would be if 40% of transactions were still being conducted without these screenings.”
Crime Research Prevention Center President John Lott has written that “there is no real scientific evidence among criminologists and economists that background checks actually reduce crime,” as all background checks do is cause delays for law-abiding citizens to purchase a firearm, which has been linked to slight increases in violent crime. Universal background checks also increases the cost of firearms.