Lol, Easier Than Buying Beer . . . .

From Johns Hopkins:What is keeping so many gun owners on the sidelines? One likely impediment is the way the issue has been cast as a cultural battle as opposed to a public safety problem. Another may be gun owners' susceptibility to the gun lobby's bogus talking points.The frame for this cultural battle is not accidental. Pushed by the gun lobby and fanned by news media's tendency to highlight conflict, widely favored, commonsense safety measures such as background checks are portrayed as attacks on gun owners' way of life. The gun lobby's claims that background checks restrict gun ownership and lead to gun registries and confiscations are repeated and often left unchallenged.When you hear something enough times, you begin to think it's true. And that's exactly the intent of the NRA and other groups.Here's the reality check: Background checks pose no threat to lawful gun ownership.Federal law forbids the federal government from maintaining anything resembling a registry of gun owners. Federal law has mandated background checks for guns sold by licensed gun dealers since 1994 without creating a registry. Exempting private gun transactions from background check requirements facilitates gun trafficking. Fixing this fatal flaw in the system would curtail the diversion of guns to criminals.In the year since the tragedy in Newtown, it is likely that more than 12,000 Americans have died of gun violence and countless others live in fear of being shot. We should stick to facts, dispel myths, and call a truce to cultural battles.Current federal gun laws aid criminals and the gun industry at the expense of public safety. Requiring background checks for all gun sales would give the vast majority of gun owners what they want while keeping guns from those who shouldn't have them.