The "Gun Show Loophole" solution?

[DanTex]

11. The "it's not the Federal Government's jurisdiction" talking point is simply inaccurate.

First off, the Commerce Clause doesn't prevent the Feds from regulating intrastate commerce. It gives the Feds the power to regulate interstate commerce. There's a difference.

And, the way the clause has been interpreted, there is a lot of leeway. There is tons of evidence that private sales of guns contribute to interstate trafficking of illegal guns, which right there provides constitutional cover.

On top of that, there are plenty of legal methods that the Federal Government can use in order to invoke laws like this. For example, machine guns are regulated much more tightly than just a federal background check by NFA -- licensing and registration -- and there aren't any constitutional issues. If the Feds can require you to undergo an extensive licensing procedure to buy a machine gun, even from a private seller, then they can require you to go through a background check to buy a handgun.

The problem with closing the private sales loophole is political, not constitutional.