After the assasination attemp on Trump I read reports there was no id on the sniper but they figured out who he was because they traced the firearm.So if true, how did they do that since there is no registration required of a long gun in Pennsylvania that I am aware of.

If a long gun is purchased from a retail store then the background check must be done.

They track the serial number on the receiver from the manufacturer to the dealer and the dealer has a record of who the gun was transferred to.

But they tell you all those records of the purchaser are destroyed after a few days ? So then they are lying?
They could go thru the sellers receipts because he has to keep a sales receipt and there it would be bingo.

Feds don't delete any records.

The 4473 stays at the dealer for I think 20 years before it can be destroyed
But if and what the dealer closes those records get turned over.

One private sale and the chain is broken forever.

That is correct. The 4473's must be SHIPPED to ATF at the owners expense. A friend of the family just retired and closed his shop. His shipping bill was over $8k to ship the paperwork to ATF.

Interesting reading here:

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12057

Not sure I completely understand it all because it will take me time but What I can gather is after 2012 the records of a purchaser form 4473 are not to be distroyed.So with that being said is it not the same as a national gun registry ?

Thr wording is that it should not be a centralized and easily searchable system or something to that effect. But it is there and why they have been trying to end public sales calling it a gun show loop hole and now switch to you need a ffl to buy and sell ploy if you are selling gums but won't put down a solid # of gums they consider dealing or a time frame you can sell x # of in a month, 6 months or a year for example. If you sell over x amount of cars in Indiana you need a dealers license but the requirements are in black and white and concrete. The ATF's new ploy is not clear at all
That is by design.

Better go quiet now or will be told I need my tinfoil hat like on other threads. It's not like I have watched hours of boring congressional testimony proving it no one else has time for or finds important.

And that is why they want to outlaw private sales. The sinister and very scary "gun show loophole"

shall not be infringed when you vote

Should be a law that everybody has to own a gun, that way people will treat each other knowing they are armed. lol

What you just described IS A GUN REGISTRY.

Not really b/c then they call you and you say you sold it privately and you aren't required to keep records so nothing is registered. Hence why they say loophole.

Ohio boy, you really believe insta check is not a gun owner registry? NSA was uncovered recording ALL electronic communication by Edward Snowden. Remember that? To think every insta check isn't recorded is incredibly naïve. ATF also has a registry of EVERY transaction done by FFL dealers that have gone out of business. If your ok with that just say so. Don't pretend its not happening.

I can see your point but I didn't really say anything I believe so Im not sure why you said that like that. Is there some dark web entity recording background check information? Probably. Is that a registry when we can buy and sell privately without having to update the registry? That wouldn't make it a very effective registry would it so I guess I've always considered a registry that didn't really work to not really ever be a registry but I can see how you would think it would be and that how them having any information at all would bother you. But I wouldn't really call a secret dark web list of information an formal USA gun registry would you?

Yes. I don’t believe its dark web. I believe it started with the first background check. ATF may not know of every gun you have but they certainly know who owns firearms and where they live.