The House passed two bills Thursday that would tighten gun sales?
No. Three reasons: This is at least the second go-round for the Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2021, which was previously the Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2019. It passed the House on a nearly party-line vote. The eight Republicans who joined the majority were from more liberal parts of Florida, the Chicago area of Illinois, a district in Michigan, New Jersey and New York. The Democrat who voted against it is from Maine. I dont see any Republican defections in the Senate and, while Joe Manchin has been supportive of background checks in the past, his constituents in West Virginia are firmly opposed to it. There are certain parts of H.R. that are of dubious constitutionality. H.R. 8 is based on Congress Commerce Clause powers (U,S, Constitution, Article 1, 8, Clause 3), which the Supreme Court has allowed a fairly broad range of scope. However, the decision in United States v. Morrison says that commerce clause powers must deal with actual commerce and the Background Check Act applies to any transfer, including temporary loans of firearms. Since there is no exchange of goods or services, there is no commerce and thus, such transfers are beyond Congress power to regulate.