  National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and Chief
Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre. / Chip Somodevilla, Getty
Images  It seems so reasonable. In the minds of many, "universal
background checks" for firearms transactions sounds like a good
idea.  But is it really? No.  No idea is good if it doesn't
work. No legislation is reasonable if it fails to accomplish its
purported goal - to prevent violent criminals and the mentally
ill from acquiring firearms.  Criminals won't participate in a
"universal" system. They'll always steal or get their guns, and
everything else they want, on the black market. Reasonable
people know that criminals will never be part of the "universe."
Even when felons do try to buy a gun and are flagged by the
system, they're almost never stopped. In 2010, out of 76,000
denied purchasers, only 44 were prosecuted nationwide for
illegally attempting to purchase a gun. That universal failure
endangers us all.  The mentally ill won't be included in the
system. For the past 20 year