It only cost $13 million, but Washington State voters have passed a bill [pdf] mandating “universal” background checks for all transfers of firearms. This is bad law. It will punish those whose only failing was not knowing its stipulations in detail, and it will do nothing to deter crime.
Under the law, a transfer is pretty much any situation in which possession of a gun changes. It doesn’t just cover the sale of firearms–a transfer occurs whenever someone besides the registered owner is in possession of the gun. So, “hold my rifle while I tie my shoes” is a transfer. If a background check hasn’t been done, with a licensed dealer as the intermediary, both parties commit a gross misdemeanor.
I’m afraid it’s going to take a few innocent people getting thrown in jail or losing their right to own guns in Washington before the defects of this law come to light.