Correct, private sales are not required to have background checks. *HOWEVER*, many private sellers are now insisting on background checks unless the person is already known to them.
That said, it is *still* illegal for them to purchase a gun due to their mental defect. Don’t confuse “physical ability to obtain a gun” with “ability to obtain a gun legally.”
It is illegal for a mental defective to possess a firearm in the United States. Period - doesn’t matter if he got it by lying on his 4473, duping a private seller, stealing it, or buying it off the black market - it is still illegal.
If I sell a gun privately, the only thing that matters is getting the highest price. That is the free market system.
Agreed at least in my case. Who wouldn’t ask a few pointed questions, especially with someone young, or old, just to somewhat ascertain the general attitude and demeanor. One other point, and there are far fewer than in days of yore.
The private dealer, who has a hobby business of selling guns, but who today, must be a dealer under all the rules in order to buy guns from another dealer, and the true private seller, like myself or unlike myself where I never met a gun I would sell. I keep what I have, and only want more. Mainstream media Arsenal comes to mind.