[FractalSphere]

""They are also widely and loudly advertising that there aren't background checks at (some) gun shows, thereby telling terrorists where to buy guns, if in fact they desire them.""

Of course they are. They're just "bunching them" right now. They're going to have surveillance at the computer shows. No doubt someone with the appropriate background will be caught there trying to buy a gun, and suddenly it'll be alright to have the federal government monitoring all gun transactions actively at the point of sale. I would argue that gun sales need to regulated with background checks. Personally, I think they should be done at gunshows, too. But I don't think what is happening now is the way to lobby for that.

[coloradan]

Well, I disagree with you on the background checks. The form 4473 is registration as well as a "check" since it contains the make, model, and serial number of the gun(s) bought, in addition to name, address, and SSN of the buyer. Though the former information doesn't go immediately to the feds, it will if the dealer is raided, goes out of business, or has the records "inspected." The only legal mechanism by which a 4473 does not turn into federal gun registration is if a dealer stays in business for 20 years after selling your gun to you - then, the dealer may legally destroy your 4473 paperwork.

Besides, criminals get guns anyway, and neither of two studies managed to show any beneficial effect from the checks, in terms of reduced crime rates. "Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals" sounds good in a sound bite, but it turns out that background checks do not have this effect.