Should gun sellers have to wait for a background check to be completed before transferring a firearm?

Crime and Law Enforcement (e.g., Gun Laws)
Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R. 8)
This bill has Passed the House of Representatives
Bill Summary

Should gun sellers have to wait for a background check to be completed before transferring a firearm? This bill mandates background checks for the sale of firearms. It would prohibit a licensed gun dealer from transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person before a background check has been completed. Currently, licensed gun dealers may transfer firearms to an unlicensed person if a background check remains incomplete three business days after being submitted. The bill includes exemptions to the background check requirement, including gifts to family members and transfers for hunting, target shooting, and self-defense. This bill has 232 cosponsors, including 227 Democrats and five Republicans. Sponsor: Rep. Mike Thompson (Democrat, California, District 5)
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Opponents say

• “The bills, H.R. 8 and S. 42, are being misleadingly described as simply requiring background checks on all sales of firearms, but this is just a small part of what these overbroad pieces of legislation would do.” - Writer at Act.nraila.org
• “H.R. 8 would prohibit a 20-year-old woman who lives on her own from acquiring a handgun for self-defense in her home.” - David Kopel, writer at The Reason
• “ H.R. 8 would not have stopped many of the circumstances I raised, but a wall — a barrier on the southern border — may have, and that’s what we’re fighting for.” - Matt Gaetz, [R-FL-1], 1st House Judiciary Committee hearing on Gun Violence

Proponents say

• “As a gun owner, hunter and supporter of the Second Amendment, I am honored to join with Democratic and Republican colleagues to introduce my universal background checks bill that will help keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them.” - Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA-5)
• “Gun violence is arguably one of the greatest public health epidemics facing the nation everyone in this room loves and serves.” - Art Acevedo, Houston police chief
• “A majority of Americans—including gun owners—support universal background checks. Congress now has the opportunity to pass this life-saving legislation that has the support of both Republicans and Democrats.” - Renee Trilling, Champaign at Herald & Review
• “I implore you to pass legislation that would make us all safer. Today in America, anyone can go on the Internet, answer an ad or go to a gun show and buy a gun with no background check required. This makes absolutely no sense.” - Aalayah Eastmond, a survivor of the Parkland shooting
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