Can background checks curb gun violence?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

62% : Some of the nation's top police leaders have also voiced support for universal background checks.
56% : That is why for years, many lawmakers and advocates have rallied for passing universal background checks to expand federal law to include private purchases.
54% : In March, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, a network of police executives representing the 79 largest cities in the U.S. and Canada, addressed the spike in crime across the U.S. over the past years and called for "establishing a strong system for universal background checks to cover all firearm purchases" and close the internet sale and gun show loopholes.
52% : But while universal background checks are often made out to be a panacea for curbing gun violence, there is mixed data about their efficacy.
50% : A 2019 study by Boston University and Harvard University medical researchers found that U.S. states with universal background checks for all gun sales had homicide rates 15% lower than states without such laws over a 26-year period.
46% : Of course, statewide background checks may not measure up against what could be achieved with a national law requiring universal background checks.
45% : Other studies indicate universal background checks don't make much of a difference at all.
45% : The National Rifle Association is among those voices that argue universal background checks would have little impact on criminality.
45% : Nearly 10 years on, Darien Richardson's family continues to fight for universal background checks.
37% : While supporters of universal background checks say they reduce gun violence by keeping guns out of the wrong hands and would help to shrink the black market, others argue that most criminals get their guns illegally anyway and would continue to find a path to do so.

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