The Missing Case for Mandatory Background Checks

The Bureau of Justice Statistics Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016 reports on where criminals reported they obtained guns.  1.2% reported flea markets or gun shows.  The largest category, 43.2% were "Off the street/underground market" defined as "Illegal sources of firearms that include markets for stolen goods, middlemen for stolen goods, criminals or criminal enterprises, or individuals or groups involved in sales of illegal drugs."  Those obtained from individuals are generally purchases, rentals, or gifts from family or friends.  Those are mostly strawman sales, already federal felonies, and unlikely to be influenced by a universal background check law.