"Balancing regulation for public safety with industry growth is tricky and politically skewed against those in the business, said Matthew Bergstrom, the managing attorney at Arsenal Attorneys, which represents gun owners and the firearm industry nationally.
“If you talk about simplifying regulation on gun dealers, people will accuse you of trying to get guns in the hands of bad guys, so it’s very hard to have an honest conversation,” said Mr. Bergstrom. “How many people commit a crime involving a firearm they’ve obtained only because a mistake was made on a 4473? It’s got to be zero.
“There’s a huge burden on the individual gun dealer to complete all the paperwork 100 percent accurately or they can be put out of business for the most insignificant practices,” said Mr. Bergstrom. “We’ll never have an answer as to how much is too much regulation, because deep down inside the anti-gun advocates don’t want anyone to own any guns. And so the regulations will continue — small-business owners will be hurt.”