According to Tampabay.com A Republican-led Florida Senate committee passed a bill that would close the so-called “gun show loophole” but still allow most private-party gun sales to take place without background checks.
The bill passed over the strong objections of the National Rifle Association’s top lobbyist, who called it “nothing less than gun control on steroids.”
“This committee bill is our best effort to try to improve public safety on the margins here,” said committee chairman Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa. “It is not a perfect system.”
It would essentially operate on the honor system. Senate Bill 7028 would not require background checks for all person-to-person sales, which make up an estimated 20 percent of all gun sales, according to the Senate committee’s analysis.
Instead, when selling a gun to another individual, the seller would be required to check the person’s ID to make sure they’re legally allowed to own the weapon and fill out a form recording the transaction.
The form would include a list of questions for the buyer, such as whether they’re a felon, a fugitive from justice, or have anything else in their history that would prevent them from owning a gun.
The seller would then confirm that they have “no knowledge or reason to believe that the purchaser is of unsound mind.”
The form would have to be witnessed and signed by a notary public, but the bill doesn’t require the seller to do anything with the form.