The Facts about Gun Shows

"Close the gun show loophole," demands Handgun Control, Inc. The major obstacle to Congress's complying with HCI's wishes appears to be the desire of many Democrats to preserve gun shows as a campaign issue in the 2000 election. But if the voters learn the facts about gun shows, they will discover that there is no gun show loophole, no gun show crime problem and no reason to adopt federal legislation whose main effect would be to infringe on First and Second Amendment rights.

Despite what some media commentators have claimed, existing gun laws apply just as much to gun shows as they do to any other place where guns are sold. Since 1938, persons selling firearms have been required to obtain a federal firearms license. If a dealer sells a gun from a storefront, from a room in his home or from a table at a gun show, the rules are exactly the same: he can get authorization from the FBI for the sale only after the FBI runs its "instant" background check (which often takes days to complete). As a result, firearms are the most severely regulated consumer product in the United States -- the only product for which FBI permission is required for every single sale.

Conversely, people who are not engaged in the business of selling firearms, but who sell firearms from time to time (such as a man who sells a hunting rifle to his brother-in-law), are not required to obtain the federal license required of gun dealers or to call the FBI before completing the sale.

Similarly, if a gun collector dies and his widow wants to sell the guns, she does not need a federal firearms license because she is just selling off inherited property and is not "engaged in the business." And if the widow doesn't want to sell her deceased husband's guns by taking out a classified ad in the newspaper, it is lawful for her to rent a table at a gun show and sell the entire collection.

If you walk along the aisles at any gun show, you will find that the overwhelming majority of guns offered for sale are from federally licensed dealers. Guns sold by private individuals (such as gun collectors getting rid of a gun or two over the the weekend) are the distinct minority.

Yet HCI claims that "25-50 percent of the vendors at most gun shows are unlicensed dealers." That statistic is true only if one counts vendors who aren't selling guns (e.g., vendors who are selling books, clothing or accessories) as "unlicensed dealers."

Denver congresswoman Diana DeGette says that 70 percent of guns used in crimes come from gun shows. The true figure is rather different, according to the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. According to an NIJ study released in December 1997 ("Homicide in Eight U.S. Cities," a report that covers much more than homicide), only 2 percent of criminal guns come from gun shows.

That finding is consistent with a mid-1980s study for the NIJ, which investigated the gun purchase and use habits of convicted felons in 12 state prisons. The study (later published as the book Armed and Considered Dangerous) found that gun shows were such a minor source of criminal gun acquisition that they were not even worth reporting as a separate figure.

At the most recent meeting of the American Society of Criminology, a study of youthful offenders in Michigan found that only 3 percent of the youths in the study had acquired their last handgun from a gun show. (Of course some criminal gun acquisition at gun shows is perpetrated by "straw purchasers" who are legal gun buyers acting as surrogates for the individual who wants the gun. Straw purchases have been federal felonies since 1968.)

According to the educational arm of HCI, the group's own survey of major-city police chiefs found only 2 out of 48 who said that guns from gun shows (both "legal and illegal sales" according to the questionnaire) were a major problem in their city.

Although the horrible murders at Columbine High School have energized anti-gun activists, no proposed federal law would have made any difference. The adults who supplied the Columbine murder weapons (Robin Anderson and Mark Manes -- the latter a son of a longtime HCI activist) were legal purchasers.

Since every gun show takes place entirely within the boundaries of a single state, Congress has no legitimate constitutional basis, under its "interstate commerce" power, to attempt to control gun shows.

Nevertheless, both houses of Congress have passed gun show legislation. The House bill does only what the gun control advocates claim to want: the imposition of federal background checks on personal sales at gun shows.

The Senate version -- passed 51-50 thanks to Vice President Gore -- goes much further, setting the stage for gun shows to be outlawed. The Senate bill gives the secretary of the Treasury nearly unlimited power to regulate gun show sales.

In the past, Treasury has abused its administrative authority over firearms to ban certain guns, so, similar treatment for gun shows can be expected. For example, the Treasury banned the import of various rifles that were popular for competitive target shooting. Although a federal statute specifically orders Treasury to allow the import of "sporting" firearms, Treasury claimed that only firearms that were recommended by hunting guides were "sporting."

The Senate version also imposes a tax on gun show promoters and allows the secretary of the Treasury unlimited power in setting the tax level. One can bet that, in this case, the power to tax really will be the power to destroy.

Gun shows are huge gathering points for people who are interested in Second Amendment issues. Gun rights groups frequently set up booths at gun shows to distribute literature and recruit members. Gun shows are places where Americans properly exercise their First and Second Amendment rights, and neither gun show patrons nor vendors deserve the mean-spirited campaign of abuse to which they have been subjected.

""Close the gun show loophole," demands Handgun Control, Inc. The major obstacle to Congress's complying with HCI's wishes appears to be the desire of many Democrats to preserve gun shows as a campaign issue in the 2000 election." (Cato Institute)

No - it's the fact that many Democreep incumbents are from Red Nation and want to be reelected!

Even the Washington ComPost said it after we won the House gun vote last time; the split was regional - rather than partisan. It also attributed Algore's loss to the gun issue - and openly said that Red Nation Democreep incumbents now want nothing to do with it as a result.

Scandals of antigun politicians - from coast to coast

First of all, I think that the "close the gunshow loophole" is an anti-gun smoke screen to allow a potentially popular legislative vehicle from which they can hang a few additional restrictions on firearm ownership.

I belong to a large Gun Collectors Club and regularly go to its shows. I belong to the NRA and a local Gun Club (or Range)and I attend the Gun Club's swap meets. I check the want adds to see if anyone is selling any interesting firearms. I like to own and shoot various kinds of firearms.

The Gun Collectors Association I belong to, is trying to "de-fang" some of the "Gun Show Loop Hole" lies. The Washington Arms Collectors (WAC) has had a long term policy that only firearms can be sold at one of its shows by members to members. This was likely done originally to promote membership. To sign up as a member one use to have to make a declaration in writing and being on file that one was not a convicted felon, not dishonorable discharged from the military, etc. Now the club has added a new requirement. The Washingotn State Patrol has a computer accessable screening that allows a member of the public with a pre-approved account to check to see if someone has a criminal record. Our club does that screening of applicants for membership.

Personally, I have purchased more holsters, ammo, outdoor clothes, and firearms related books at gun shows than I have purchased firearms. I would hate to see gunshows outlawed, which I believe is the intent of those trying to "close the gun show loop hole." I believe that it would be imposible to prevent private sales of firearms between neighbors or friends with any type of legislation. I dislike it that many newspapers refuse to run classified ads for the sale of firearms or handguns. Having said that, I also think that the approach that the WAC has taken does a lot toward removing the arguments that the critics of Gun Shows have. I would hope that other gun show sponsors try to find ways of dealing with the anti-gun groups in a way that does not restrict the freedom of the public. The WAC is a voluntary association that puts on one to two gun shows a month for the benefit of its members, but allows the public to attend if they follow the rules of the association. Even the NRA has rules about who can be a member of that assoication.

I have often heard that pornographers should voluntarily do something to keep their products out of the hands of minors; that movie and TV production companies show warn potenial viewers about shows that contain excessive violence or nudity. Likewise, I feel that Gun Clubs and Collectors Associations, should do something to warn the faint of heart that a gun show may contain things that they don't want to see and that such gun organizations should make some attempt to keep firearms out of the hands of people that should not own them. I think that honest people should be smart enough to figure out ways of doing business in a way that doesn't require new federal laws and new federal paperwork.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.