Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Why is our Congress wasting its time and ours on trying to pass a universal background check to give us the ability to buy a firearm? We already have a useable government background check system, maybe not perfect but a system that is in effect. And yes, it does work most of the time.

But then why would a system used by law-abiding citizens not work? For the most part, it’s the people who commit crimes that do not subscribe to it. They find other, illegal ways of getting their firearms. According to government statistics which they have published, there are thousands of people who have failed the background check and not been able to purchase a gun on the open market. These background forms, which are federal forms, have a place where the applicant must swear to the fact that all answers given are true. To lie on these forms one is subject to fine and/or imprisonment. But the government itself acknowledges that less than a fifth of people who lie on...