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.
Is it as “terrible” as late term abortions, Sir?
“This is the same gun, same magazine I had in Afghanistan,
SHAMELESS liar.
Most likely a staged event.
Hmmm. Any video of warehouses being robbed of firearms with no background check? Or drug dealer to drug dealer? Or ms-13 thug to ms-13 thug? Nah, just focus on law abiding folks. It’s less work.
Well see what your up against now Conservative?
2006 all over again. Democrats will be shamelessly lying about everything to get elected.
Everyone knows that videos are indisputable proof.
Not to mention calling it a "weapon of war". A Springfield Model 1855 muzzleloader is a weapon of war. The AR-15 is not.
Should disqualify him right there.
If Helmer purchased the same gun he used in the military then in the military he was using a non -government issued civilian gun! The military uses selective fire automatic weapons Civilian rifles are non-selective fire.
Mr Helmer seems to be a liar.
A shotgun is a weapon of war. So is a Jeep. A truck. A plane. A knife.
If the seller were a Federally Licensed dealer, he would have to perform a background check in all 50 states.
Get a life.
...This weapon is similar to the weapons I carried in Iraq and Afghanistan...,” Helmer said”
If he is as dishonest and disingenuous as a Congressman as he is in this statement, then he is the perfect example of a Democrat.
Likely s there are State Police there that can do background checks for those type of purchases. Helmer is full of $hR%t.
Campaign make him sound like Rambo but based on his military bio, and this ad, I doubt this guy ever heard a shot fired in anger.
Another gutter slime poltical con man.
> “terrifying”
__ssy
I don’t think our case was that these sales don’t happen, it’s that the guns in these sales are almost NEVER used for crimes, particularly mass murders, and thus blocking these sales/transfers will not affect crime, but will make it that much tougher to own/sell/buy guns, which will have the effect of less and less people doing just that.
And THAT is what the Left needs - less gun owners, and when gun owners are few enough, the Left will simply FINISH THE JOB and make private ownership Illegal...and the votes on our side will NOT be there to stop them, or even slow them down.
the dem candidate then went on to say he was on psychotropic drugs and having homicidal thoughts and felt really depressed that cops were oppressing him, and the guy at the gunshow, still sold him a weapon of war.
He also committed a felony.
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