Criminal Background Checks

Currently, prospective gun purchasers are required to show identification and undergo a criminal background check only when purchasing a gun from a licensed firearm dealer. Unlicensed dealers and individuals sell approximately half of all guns in Wisconsin.

WAVE favors legislation that would extend the current background check system to all gun transactions.

View our growing coalition of partners who support background checks on all gun sales

Updates and Events

States Aren't Submitting Records To Gun Database - WI Among The Worst

NPR by Jeff Brady
A federal database with the names of mentally ill people barred from buying guns still lacks millions of records it...

Suspect Bought Large Stockpile of Rounds Online

By JACK HEALY
New York Times July 22, 2012
DENVER — Unhindered by federal background checks or government...

Police Chiefs Call for Tougher Federal Gun Laws

Erin Toner - WUWM
Police chiefs throughout Wisconsin are calling on the federal government to reform its gun laws. This week, members of the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police...

Research

The Case for Gun Policy Reforms in America

A report from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Case for Gun...

Point, Click, Fire

An investigation of online private gun sales found that 62% of sellers were willing to sell guns to people who said they couldn’t pass a criminal background check....

A new survey confirms what we have long been saying: the NRA doesn’t represent the views of its members.

A survey conducted by Frank Luntz shows that 86% of gun owners feel we can do more to stop criminals from getting guns while also protecting the rights of citizens to freely own them, 85% support...