House chairman opposes universal background checks
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said Wednesday he opposes universal background checks on gun sales and doesn't foresee such a measure being part of gun legislation in the House.
Requiring background checks on all gun sales is a top priority of the Obama administration in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, and has appeared to be emerging in the Senate as a possible area of bipartisan consensus.
But Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with media that such a requirement could unnecessarily inconvenience law-abiding citizens and lead to the creation of a national gun registry — something Goodlatte and many other Republicans oppose.
"It's not a very practical thing to do and you'll have a lot of inconvenience to law-abiding citizens at the same time you're not going to keep many weapons out of the hands of people who are misusing them," Goodlatte said. "I think there are better ways."
Instead, Goodlatte said he supports strengthening the existing background check system for gun buyers and cracking down on illegal firearms sales.
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