The Chilling Effect of Background Checks on Second Amendment Rights

The existing background check law has a tremendous chilling effect on the exercise of Second Amendment rights. Most of the people denied the right to buy a gun are false positives. That is, they are falsely denied. It is a travesty of justice that tens of thousands of people are denied their rights by this system every year.

MyFoxTampa reports: 

The law requires licensed gun dealers to check with law enforcement before making a sale, which in this state is the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The goal is to prevent felons -- and people who don't qualify -- from getting their hands on a gun and it's a federal crime if they even try.
But how often is the law enforced?

"Virtually no one is arrested and convicted of attempts to illegally buy a gun in a gun store," stated Gary Kleck, a professor of criminology at Florida State who's done extensive research on gun control laws.

FOX 13 took a look at the numbers across the nation and in the Tampa Bay Area. The most recent figures from the Department of Justice show there were more than 76,142 denials in 2010.

But just 62 cases were referred for prosecution and only 13 resulted in a guilty verdict or plea.

In 2010, only .017 percent of people who were denied the right to buy a firearm were convicted of illegally attempting to do so.  This should be proclaimed everywhere as the tremendous infringement on Constitutional rights that "background checks" are.