Saving the Gun Show “loophole”

January 26, 2009 by George
Filed under: Obama Gun Agenda 

This is part two of our series on gun control myths.   In part one, we examined the Tiahrt amendment, and why it was important to gun rights.  In this episode, we will take a look at the “gun show loophole.”

One of the common refrains from anti-rights organizations is the need to close the “gun show loophole.”  They would have one believe that gun shows are places where normal firearm laws don’t apply.  What exactly is the “gun show loophole” and why is it important to liberty?

In 1994, Congress enacted the “Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act”  The act contained several provisions, but among the requirements was that all federally licensed firearms dealers perform a background check before selling a firearm.  As an aside, the Journal of the American Medical Association studied the effects of the Brady law in August, 2000 and found that:

Changes in rates of homicide and suicide for treatment and control states
were not significantly different, except for firearm suicides among persons aged 55
years or older…implementation of the Brady Act appears to have been associated with
reductions in the firearm suicide rate for persons aged 55 years or older but not with
reductions in homicide rates or overall suicide rates.

So, the Brady law (which has not impacted homicide rates) requires a backround check when licensed dealers sell firearms.  Surely this law doesn’t apply at a gun show…that’s the gun show loophole, right?  Um…no, not extactly.  A gun show is just like any other location…it requires any licensed dealer to conduct a background check before selling a firearm.

So what’s the loophole?  Lots of people have never been to a gun show, so let me set the stage for you.  Imagine a hall, filled with people buying and selling all kind of things: guns, ammunition, reloading supplies, holsters, militaria, gun parts.  There is always some guy seling jerky.  For some reason, at the gun shows near me there is always somebody selling gutter service.  At any rate, there are lots of folks selling things.  Only some of them are licensed firearms dealers.  Some of them are guys selling jerky at a gun show.  The law only requires people who are gun dealers to be licensed to sell guns.

Now, lets assume that the jerky man has a gun he wants to sell.  He can put it out on his table along side the jerky and sell it, just like anything else he might own.  Is he a dealer?  No…he’s just some guy with a gun to sell.  If he sells it, it is a private transaction between two people, not a transaction between a dealer and a customer.  Thus, the jerky man doesn’t have to perform a background check.  Moreover, he isn’t able to do a background check…use of the NICS system is restricted to…you guessed it…gun dealers.

So, does that mean I can just sell any of my guns to anyone I want?  Not hardly.  First of all, there are still a bevy of Federal laws to contend with.  For example, it is illegal to sell a handgun to someone who is not a resident of your state.  It’s still illegal to sell to prohibited persons, felons for example.  And you have to contend with any state laws.  In North Carolina, for example, any sale of a pistol must be accompanied by a pistol purchase permit, which is only issued after a background check.

The only way to close the “gun show loophole” is to prohibit all transfer of firearms without involving a federally licensed dealer.  And I mean ALL transfers.  A father giving his daughter a rifle, for example. My granddad giving me his rifle from WWII.  And, yes, sales between private parties…whether at a gun show or not.

There is one additional effect that closing the “loophole” would have.  It would create a defacto gun registry…no firearms would be able to transferred without updating the federal government.  And history has proven, from Germany in the 1930′s, to Australia, the United Kingdom, and California in the 1990′s, that registration always leads to confiscation.

In the next part of the series, we will examine the “Assualt Weapons” ban, and why it doesn’t reduce crime.

UPDATE: SayUncle has a link to an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch saying essentially the same thing.  That’s what happens when you blog before reading your blogroll.

Tags:

Comments

2 Comments on Saving the Gun Show “loophole”

  1. Another prespective on Gun Shows | Newbie Shooter on Mon, 26th Jan 2009 11:40 am

    2. [...] SayUncle has a link to an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch saying essentially the same thing as my earlier post. [...]

  2. ROBERTO on Tue, 18th Aug 2009 11:56 am

    3. WERE AND WHEN? CAN I GET A LOCATION AND TIME?

Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!