Posted on 11/13/2001 2:37:55 PM PST by asneditor
The gun show was described by former President Bill Clinton as a bazaar for criminals where they could buy guns of any description and in any quantity in total anonymity. According to the gun-control mythology, at a gun show there are no background checks, no one asks for a name or address and your reason for wanting a fully automatic assault rifle with flash suppresser and attached grenade launcher is strictly your own business.
It was this vision that perhaps led the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (BCPGV) to declare that, "the gun show becomes a place where those planning to use guns in crime are able to meet unlicensed sellers and avoid the very laws meant to cut down on gun violence," it adds.
But once again, the gun controllers have been kicked in the pants by the facts. The U.S. Justice Department interviewed 18,000 state and federal prison inmates in 1991 and again in 1997.
It should be noted, in both those years the department was part of an administration that was amenable to gun control. In 1991, the President was George Bush was did not resist gun control and in 1997 the department was under the direction of Bill Clinton and Attorney-General, Janet Reno both of whom were rabid on the subject.
The responses of these prisoners simply knocked the "gun-show loophole" theory into a cocked hat. In 1997 less than one percent of violent offenders -- 0.7 percent to be exact -- acquired their guns at a gun show. That's fewer than one in a hundred.
Slightly more, one in a hundred, acquired their guns at flea markets. Purchases at pawn shops accounted for 3.8 percent of guns used by these convicts. And, despite the Brady law, sales at retail stores exceeded these other outlets at 8.3 percent, although this was still a minor source of guns for violent criminals.
Almost 80 percent of the guns used by these violent offenders were obtained from friends or family members, or purchased on the street or from other illegal sources. These transactions are obviously beyond the reach of any legislation and demonstrate the fact that so-called gun control laws only control the acquisition of guns by non-criminals, that is, the potential victims of those who are unhindered by such laws.
The Brady people also claim that an upsurge in gun violence due to gang and drug activity began in the late 1980s and that this created "an enormous demand" for military style "assault weapons" including the UZI, AK-47, AR-15 rifles, the TEN-9 and MAC10 handguns, and a shotgun with the sinister moniker, "Streetsweeper." Again, the Brady people lose to the facts. According to the Justice Dept. survey, about only eight percent of state and federal prisoners used military style semi-automatic weapons. In case the Brady people are still confused, that means 92 percent used something else -- something non-military and not semi-auto.
The DOJ report raises serious doubts about the effectiveness of gun laws in reducing gun-related crime. The Brady law indeed seems to have reduced the volume of criminals obtaining their guns from an ordinary retail store. In the 1997 survey, 14 percent of inmates had acquired their gun from a store, down from the 21 percent in 1991. But that doesn't mean the criminals did not obtain guns and use them. In fact, from 1991 to 1997 there was a slight increase in the number of inmates who reported using a gun. It was only a two to three percent increase but we were promised a reduction in criminal gun use with passage of Brady.
For that matter the 1993 crime bill with its ban on so-called assault weapons didn't pose much of a problem for criminals either. About half of he inmates with assault weapons got them by stealing them or by purchasing them from a drug dealer, a fence or elsewhere on the black market.
But gun control zealots, typically unmoved by experience or logic, are busy devising new ways to take guns away from law abiding citizens. The current enthusiasm is S-1438 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002. Section 1062 of the bill makes it illegal to possess "significant military equipment formerly owned by the Department of Defense."
This applies to everything on the U. S. Munitions List plus whatever the Secretary of Defense decides to include. The Munitions List includes "non-automatic, semiautomatic and fully automatic firearms (in other words all, small arms) to caliber .50 inclusive. You'll be allowed to own such weapons provided they are "de-militarized" which means rendered useless.
Some of the familiar weapons covered by this measure would be the venerable of Garand M-1 of WW II fame, the military .45 pistol, the AR-15 rifle and even the creaky old 1903 bolt-action rifle.
There's a reason the anti-gun forces are not persuaded by studies showing that gun laws don't reduce crime or the use of guns in crime. It's because crime is not their concern.
They are elitists who object to an armed population in principle. An armed citizenry is a characteristic of a system of government in which the people are sovereign and government is limited. That's what bothers them -- the riff-raff being in charge -- not crime.
The "unlicensed sellers" are basically the guy who couldn't flog his turkey gun in last weeks swap sheet.
So, if you're a criminal, why show up and try and buy a weapon in front of hundreds or thousands of people at a gun show? Buy it from the newspaper or, just steal it from the same guy.
prambo
No, for some reason liberals don't seem to find gun shows fun. ;-)
Only on targets!
YES! You did read about Queen Shiela at a gun show. I believe it was posted here, too, but I can't find it.
If I recall correctly, her minions were attempting to make illegal purchases. And failed.
95% of the rifles and shotguns were clearly for hunting -- one or two shots. (Nothing wrong with that if you're a hunter!) There were a few SKS, one High Point semi-auto carbine (a crappy weapon IMHO), and a few other semi-auto rifles that are readily available. There was one vendor with a few Mossberg pump shotguns.
Then there was the usual assortment of handguns, nothing special. A couple of Jennings "Saturday Night Special" 9mm, which I had never seen except in pictures. In NY, including gun shows, you can't even touch a handgun without a pistol permit, much less buy one.
It was prominently posted that all buyers had to go through the usual background check. Out-of-state sellers could take orders but not deliver the goods. In short, everything was handled exactly the same as it would be in a NY State firearms shop. There was nothing there that I couldn't have gotten just as easily at a regular gun store. The only advantage to me as a buyer was having it all under one roof, with some vendors having odds and ends that I was looking for. I wasn't tempted to buy a firearm; there was nothing better for my purpose than what I already had, and nothing I couldn't just as easily get elsewhere.
So where is the press getting all this nonsense about the "gun show problem?"
No, it means they may have used semi-automatic weapons that were not "military style."
I have a hard time believing 92 percent of all criminals used bolt-action rifles, pump shotguns, and revolvers.
Almost 80 percent of the guns used by these violent offenders were obtained from friends or family members
Rather than working to close the gun show loop hole, what Congress needs to do is pass legislation to protect our children! They need to make it illegal to be related to a criminal or to be the friend of a criminal. After all only when criminals don't have any friends or family, they will be denied an important source of illegal firearms! Let's all ask Congress to protect our children by making it a crime to be related to a criminal or to be the friend of a criminal! (/sarcasm)
I am sorry, but, I do not understand this?
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