Posted on 05/01/2018 1:32:51 PM PDT by Simon Green
A Democratic congressional candidate says a video of him purchasing an assault weapon at a gun show shows how easy it is for anyone to buy a high-powered weapon in the United States.
Dan Helmer, a Democrat running against Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) in Virginia's 10th District, writes on Twitter that he found it "terrifying" how easy it was to purchase an assault rifle in the state.
In the video shot by his campaign, Helmer, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, does not identify the specific gun model he purchases, but calls it "functionally similar" to the weapon he used while serving in the military.
"This is the same gun, same magazine I had in Afghanistan," Helmer says at one point in the video. He asks the seller whether a background check is needed to purchase it, and is told no.
In a tweet, he said that it took "less time to buy a weapon of war than a cup of coffee," noting that the purchase did not require a background check under federal law. The video had 82,000 views by Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement to The Hill, Helmer called the so-called gun show loophole that allows Americans to buy weapons from gun trade shows without a background check "insane."
"There is a huge loophole in the law that makes it legal to buy such weapons from private dealers without doing a background check. This is insane, and it is dangerous. This weapon is similar to the weapons I carried in Iraq and Afghanistan, and there's no reason it should be this easy to get one," Helmer said.
Helmer's campaign added in an email that he supports requiring background checks for purchases at gun shows, as well as an assault weapons ban, high-capacity magazine ban, and a ban on bump stocks.
Comstock did not immediately return a request for comment.
Comstock won reelection in Virginia's 10th District in 2016 with just over 52 percent of the vote, beating Democrat LuAnn Bennett in the district that President Trump lost to Hillary Clinton, 42 percent to Clinton's 52 percent.
Democrats are looking at Comstock's district as a potential pickup in this fall's midterm elections, where the party is hoping to take back majorities in both houses of Congress.
...and to add a bit more. The gun shows that I’ve been to ALWAYS have cops there...watching everyone, which is why bad guys prefer not to be there. Much easier to buy on the street, with no one watching, which is what they do.
Another domestic enemy has identified himself
the rights of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed
period
First, Comstock is a fake Republican.
“2006 all over again. Democrats will be shamelessly lying about everything to get elected.”
Very true, but gun control is a losing argument for them. I don’t know why they’re using this unless some focus group told them that it plays well in that district.
And so he'd like more background checks. So, how will that make anyone safer when (1) the government doesn't prosecute people that lie when they buy and (2) none of the recent murderers would have been prevented from buying by a background check.
Methinks ole Dan needs to reread that second ammendment. It should be very easy to purchase a firearm.
So what is the law in Virginia? Can anyone walk in off the street and purchase a firearm? In my state (Washington) you can purchase a firearm at the show - as long as as you’re a member of the hosting association (The Washington Arms Collectors (W.A.C.)).
Otherwise you can look but not buy.
How so?
So far, none of these mass killers bought their guns at gun shows....incl Hasan, the Muslim duo in Ca, the Muslim duo at the gay saloon, the theatre nutcase, the dude who shot the Congress woman, the Ct school shooter, this latest hit where LE hid behind their vehicles, etc etc
Do House Democrats background check Pakistani spies?
As far as I know, no “mass shooter” has EVER used a legally purchased semi-automatic rifle that was bought without a background check at a gun show.
Also, the FBI statistics are unhelpful on semi-automatic rifle murders. They only have national statistics for “Rifle” murders, which are usually about 300 per year.
Excluding gang murders and mass shootings, I'd be surprised if more than 100 Americans (less than 1% of murder victims) are murdered each year with an AR-15 style weapon.
They intend to confiscate our means of self-defense by any method possible, just as those British troops did at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. We need to stand firm against this rabble of lying liberals.
In some states individuals can sell firearms to another individual without using the background check. This is not breaking news and it is not where most criminals obtain their weapons, but this person is simply trying to scare people into voting for him, even if he is being dishonest about the weapon he bought.
If that is what you want in your state, run for the statehouse and make it happen.
Some states already force background checks because that is what they wanted.
That what the 10th amendment is all about.
Utterly irrelevant when the opposition is a Peloise clone extreme left clown like this.
If he really did this then he probably bought it from a private person who is eliminating his guns by renting a table. THAT is not illegal. That or a person offering to buy or sell one in the parking lot. It is considered PRIVATE PROPERTY.
No different than me trading a firearm to a working companion.
Anyone remember the old Gun and Dog Trading Days on the County Square around the Court House? That was before the Fainthearts took over.
“First, Comstock is a fake Republican.”
As a resident in her northern Virgina district, she’s far better than the real Democrat authoritarian socialists she runs against. A good that wins is better than a perfect that fails.
Would he care to explain why in the hell the environmental protection agency and the bureau of land management need machine guns and grenade launchers to carry out their duties protecting the environment and managing land?
Can he explain what environmental, land management or for that matter law enforcement function requires a machine gun?
And did he report how many crimes have been committed by guns purchased in that manner?
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