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DRAFT NOT YET SUBMITTED, PLEASE COMMENT
To the Editor, Washington Times:

The February 26 article “Bush seeks protection for gun dealers” contains at least two serious errors. The article referred to “the gun-show loophole, which allows unlicensed dealers to sell guns without thorough background checks.” This is the deceptive rhetoric of the anti-gun lobby.

First, there is no such thing as an “unlicensed dealer.” There are licensed dealers, and there are private citizens. Federal authorities refuse to license private citizens as dealers unless they actually run a gun shop. Under Clinton, thousands of small “kitchen table” dealers had their licenses revoked simply for being too small, a move that ironically reduced the number of transfers subject to background checks.

Second, there is no gun-show “loophole.” A “loophole” means an exception, and there is no exception in Federal law for gun-shows. Current federal law treats sales by licensed dealers exactly the same whether or not they occur a gun-show. Federal law treats sales by private citizens exactly the same whether or not they occur at a gun show.

Even the article’s use of the term “assault weapon” deceptively suggests that these are automatic military rifles, when they are ordinary civilian rifles with certain cosmetic features. These superficial features are of no importance to criminals, as proven by a ten year ban that had no effect on crime, and which deserves to sunset.

Love,
Beelzebubba