Heartland gun shop owner reacts to President Biden’s order on background checks to buy guns

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (KFVS) - On Tuesday, March 14, President Joe Biden signed an executive order aiming to increase the number of background checks to buy guns. But some local firearm owners aren’t happy about it.

Owner of Triggers Gun Shop in Poplar Bluff, Ryan Thurman, said the background check laws already on the books do plenty.

“The Second Amendment says it shall not be infringed and it is a bit of an infringement, but it’s just the price we pay to own a gun.”

Thurman said in his opinion, President Biden’s new executive order regarding firearm background checks will not reduce gun violence as intended.

“There’s new forms out the word has been changed on them, you know they work I don’t know what else you would do. Now they’ve also got it to where under 21 years of age it’s a 10-day waiting period 18,19, 20, 21 years old you gotta wait several days than anybody else,” Thurman said.

Firearm owner Jim Acres came to Triggers to shop. Acres said he thinks this new executive order will only make it harder for people to legally buy firearms.

“If I thought that it actually would do something to increase safety and in any way save lives, then I would be for that,” Acres said. “We’re already infringed enough...by having the waiting periods in some places, background checks--you have to prove that you are capable to have it--you don’t have to do that with any of our other rights.”

Thurman said he worries making it more difficult to obtain a firearm legally will only prompt more people to obtain guns illegally.

“There are places still here even in southeast Missouri you can go and buy guns with no paperwork on them,” Thurman said. “There’s Facebook--people sell on there still so there’s ways around the 4473 it always has been--and it might drive people further from that.”

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