March 20, 2021

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Gun News

Do Universal Background Checks Work?

Thanks to gunsandamerica.org

Under current federal law, licensed dealers are required to run background checks on all gun purchases prior to making sales. But this law does not apply to private gun transactions.

About 1 in 5 gun transactions in the U.S. occur without a background check, according to a 2017 study by researchers at Harvard and Northeastern University. And another study by the Department of Justice, found that only about 1.5% of the millions of gun background checks run by the FBI annually result in denials.

Proponents of universal background checks argue they reduce gun violence by identifying more prohibited purchasers and prevent gun violence that could be perpetrated by criminals who are able to purchase weapons.

Some gun rights groups, however, oppose expanding background checks as unnecessary government intrusion, because they argue most criminals get their guns from family, friends and "black market" street purchases, which would continue to occur. Some also argue UBCs are unconstitutional because such laws might lead to the establishment of a federal gun registry in order to track purchases outside of dealers.

Research is mixed as to whether universal background check requirements can reduce gun violence. Some studies have found that UBCs can reduce gun violence and violent crime generally. But other research has found that these policies haven't led to reductions in gun violence, even after being in place for several years.

As of May 2020, more than a dozen states have a universal background check law on the books. And in February 2019, the Democrat-led House of Representatives passed a federal universal background check bill that would require a background check for all gun sales, regardless of the platform.


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Featured Firearm

M2 Browning "Ma Deuce" Machine Gun

The M2 Machine Gun or Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun is a heavy machine gun designed towards the end of World War I. It is very similar to the earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. The M2 uses the much larger and more powerful .50 BMG cartridge, which was developed alongside and takes its name from the gun itself (BMG standing for Browning Machine Gun).

It's one of the longest-serving weapons in the U.S. arsenal, packing a punch that few forget whether they are firing the weapon or on the receiving end of its tremendous firepower. The Browning M-2 .50-caliber heavy machine gun casts a long shadow over U.S. military history - and it holds a special place in the hearts of many soldiers. Nicknamed "Ma Deuce" by World War II G.I.s, some who have fired the weapon consider it the mother of all machine guns.

Did you know?

Legendary Marine Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock holds the Marine Corps record for the longest confirmed sniper kill shot. The late Marine sniper set the record in 1967 with a M-2 .50 caliber Browning machine gun.

From a hill in Duc Pho, Hathcock shot an enemy in the head at 2,500 yards with the .50 caliber machine gun known as "Ma Deuce," Charles Henderson wrote in "Marine Sniper," his novelized biography of Hathcock.

"This is the longest-reaching sniper weapon, the M-2 .50 caliber machine gun," Land, Hathcock's CO, told a group of war reporters at one point, according to Henderson. He said the weapon was "effective out to three thousand yards," well beyond Hathcock's Winchester Model 70 .30-06 caliber rifle.

Marine snipers could equip the Browning machine gun with either a Unertl Optical Company or Lyman Gunsight Corporation eight-power scope, the same ones the snipers put on their rifles, and provide "a battalion commander the benefit of extra long-range sniper fire," Land said.

Use of the M-2 machine gun as a sniper weapon began during the Korean War and continued during the Vietnam War.

Hathcock's 2,500-yard shot in Vietnam is among the top seven longest known sniper kill shots worldwide and is the second longest in the US military.


Thanks for reading,

The Editor

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