US President Joe Biden’s administration moved Thursday to close loopholes that allow people to sell guns without a dealer license, which would require them to perform background checks on purchasers.
The Justice Department released detailed rules that follow the Biden-backed Safer Communities Act passed by Congress in June 2022 in reaction to the large number of shooting deaths — especially in mass shootings — across the country.
The rules take aim at gaps in the law that have allowed gun sellers to avoid obtaining licenses by claiming not to make money from transactions or by saying their lack of a storefront or insignificant sales volume exempts them from dealer requirements.
It also tightens the rules on collectors who buy and sell guns, and on failed gun dealers selling their inventories.
The aim, the Justice Department said, is to force more firearms sellers to check the backgrounds of prospective purchasers…
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