The idea of a universal background check sounds good on the surface and most people see it as a reasonable thing to do in order to try to make sure that those attempting to purchase a firearm are not known to be someone who should not have one. Proponents claim that it will stop felons or mentally disturbed people from acquiring these weapons. Opponents claim that this is nothing more than a placebo that is just feel good legislation because there are too many ways for these people to acquire weapons outside the channels that would be required to perform them. It is sort of like thinking that laws against using or selling drugs will keep drugs off the streets and keep our children safe from them. Some opponents believe the purpose of the universal background check is to build a completely updated list of which law abiding citizens have what weapons and because there is also a call for this on the purchase of ammunition, they believe it would also provide data on the amount of ammunition that is in the hands of law abiding citizens. They complain that it would do nothing to gain any insights on outlaws since outlaws would not participate, so it does not make sense to view it as a means to try to control outlaws. There are already background checks in place that tend to keep outlaws trading on the black market and no matter how universal they make the requirement for a background check, there is no way to get the black market to participate. Opponents also express concern about the reasoning for universal background checks if it really does not do anything to limit unwanted firearms sales? There is concern that this information would allow for the confiscation of the arms and ammo from law abiding citizens if the government decided to. Even if this is not the intention, it certainly does present the opportunity of this government or any invading force to use this information to this end.