Run background checks on all gun sales

After a tragedy like the one at Virginia Tech in 2007, we ask ourselves why it happened and whether we could have prevented it.

On that day, a mentally disturbed student killed 32 people and himself with a variety of legally purchased weapons.

Months later, as a result of this massacre, state lawmakers beefed up Illinois' background check system to improve chances it would identify people with a history of mental illness and prevent them from buying guns. The law kicked in after the tragedy at Northern Illinois University, where a student with a history of mental illness also used legally purchased guns to kill five, wound 17 and commit suicide. We don't know whether it would have prevented what happened that Valentine's Day in DeKalb.

Today in Illinois, background checks are required when someone applies for a Firearms Owner Identification Card, which is good for 10 years, and each time they purchase a gun at a licensed gun shop or gun show.

That second background check is required because things can change between the day a FOID card is issued and the day someone buys a gun. The gun sale is stopped if the second background check reveals a felony, history of domestic violence, inpatient mental health treatment, or a flag that someone is suicidal or dangerous. Nationwide, the law stopped about 1.6 percent of attempted gun purchases. That prevented 136,000 guns from getting into the wrong hands.

Unfortunately, there's still a way to get around this law in most states, including Illinois.

Private sales do not require the second background check. Someone rejected at a gun dealer could easily find someone advertising a gun for sale and make the purchase. Private sales represent roughly 40 percent of gun sales, according to the Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

That just doesn't make sense. If lawmakers have decided background checks are necessary, they should be necessary for all purchases.

The Illinois House narrowly rejected a proposal to close this loophole in March. There is talk of bringing it back before the legislature adjourns for summer.

Opponents will tell you it's not needed because private sale purchases require a valid FOID card. But how would a seller know whether a FOID card is valid without that background check? Think of it in terms of a common driver's license. Everyone knows what it is supposed to look like. Yet, if someone flashes their license, would you know whether it's been suspended or revoked? How would the average person even know if it was forged?

You wouldn't.

That's why it makes sense to apply the same rules that apply to gun shops to private gun sales. This is not an extreme measure. It simply closes a loophole and applies the law uniformly.

We urge lawmakers to close this loophole now.