There are two problems with the 'enforce the laws we have' crowd that make their argument incredibly convenient. First, many of them will admit our current laws are under-enforced, but many of those laws lack teeth as they are written... or they have glaring loopholes. So, if we then suggest an overhaul or more strict laws, it becomes an argument of 'well, we can't do that because we can't even enforce current laws.' It's a no-win situation.
Second, many of those laws, even if they were enforced to the T with precision and timeliness, would still not address some of the biggest issues with gun control in general.
Broadly, though, these are some of the biggest loopholes and laws that I know of that are currently under-enforced or ineffective:
- Background check system: although it has been mostly effective, some states have their own laws (inconsistencies, flaws and inefficiencies abound) while other states rely on the FBI. And if the FBI can't conclude the background check within 3 business days, sellers are legally able to move forward with the sale.
- "Gun show" or private sales: we have no federal standard for ensuring a private sale of a gun is done with a background check; there's virtually nothing holding these sellers accountable. And before somebody says it, it's not even a matter of under-enforcement. It's a matter of there being virtually nothing in place to ensure they're selling a gun to an eligible person.
- No federal mandatory waiting period. You can literally manage all the elements of a firearm purchase in less than a business day even if you don't get the gun the same day.
- Little to no mandatory training or storage safety laws (unless you want to do something like a CCL)