Once again the argument has erupted within Gun World as to whether or not a gun show ‘loophole’ actually exists. The NRA, in trying to discredit an ISIS video which tells their followers in America to buy a gun at a show without undergoing a background check, is saying that the so-called ‘loophole’ is a figment of the overactive gun-grabbing imagination. The GVP is saying that anyone can transact a private gun exchange at a show, and such transfers aren’t covered by any legal requirements at all. So who’s right and who’s wrong?
The real problem in understanding whether or not the ‘loophole’ exists is the way in which one particular word – dealer – is thrown around whenever we talk about guns. I see this word being misused again and again on both sides of the debate, and it’s the reason why the gun show ‘loophole’ continues to be explained in ways that often don’t make any sense.
Being a gun dealer doesn’t mean that you get up one morning, throw some old piece of junk into the car, and drive down to the local McDonald’s to meet some guy who says he’s going to give you fifty bucks for the gun. How did you make contact with the guy? You put an ad in your weekly shopper, or you stuck a notice on a bulletin board at the laundromat, or maybe you mentioned it to the guy sitting next to you at the local VFW club.
The fact that you sell a personally-owned gun to someone else doesn’t make you a ‘dealer’ in guns. In order to be a gun dealer, according to the ATF, means you have to be “a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms.” Last year Obama considered issuing an Executive Order which would have imposed a minimum number of guns sold as an additional criteria for being in the ‘business’ of dealing in guns, but the consideration was as far as he got.
Now the fact is that very few states require a background check prior to transferring any and all guns whether you are a dealer or not. In fact, only eight states have what we call ‘universal’ background checks, although ten other states impose background checks on certain types of transactions, both in terms of the type of gun and where the transaction takes place. If a gun show promoter were to impose a requirement that only licensed dealers could display and sell guns at his shows, he’d better have another gig lined up because he won’t be running more gun shows any time soon.
Back in the 1980’s before guns became such a big, friggin’ deal, myself and a bunch of New York City gun-nut cops used to go to a gun show in Newburgh, N.Y. The reason we went to that show was because there was always some interesting stuff lying around, and it was understood that you could buy anything ‘on shield;’ i.e., show a badge and that was that. If you go to a gun show today in New York State, every single transaction requires you to fill out a 4473 background-check form, but who’s to say that you can’t walk outside to the parking lot or drive a block away?
The reason there’s a gun show loophole is that it’s a lot easier to walk past 50 tables and look at hundreds of guns rather than scanning the local shopper where you might see one gun ad or two. It’s not so much that gun shows encourage breaking the law, it’s that there are lots of guns that can be sold without NICS checks sitting in the same place. Which doesn’t mean there’s a gun show loophole because in this country just about anyone can buy a gun any time they want.
May 18, 2017 @ 12:43:28
Here is a thought. Does anyone know if there has ever been a survey of how many people selling guns at gun shows are FFLs (and hence have to have you fill out a 4473) and how many are not FFL’s and just making so called incidental sales? Regardless of what state you live in or whether the state mandates background checks, I assume any FFL has to do a 4473 whether they are displaying out of their garage, brick and mortar shop, or gun show. So whether gun shows, per se, are effective loopholes for background checks kinda depends on how effective they are at letting buyers evade the 4473 or similar. If someone is trolling around a gun show asking which vendors don’t do background checks, there is a good chance they would get the bum’s rush.
We have two organizations that run gun shows in my county, one is the Los Alamos club and another is a private individual who runs gun shows as part of his local ammo business. Most of the folks who display there are FFLs but I don’t know all of them.
May 21, 2017 @ 18:44:32
Seems like this whole issue is chasing crumbs. All (the clear majority) of the large gun dealers strictly adhere to all the laws and regs because the insignificant money made from an illicit sale is in no way worth the potential consequences. So, saying you can “walk past 50 tables and look at hundreds of guns” is true but you won’t be buying any of those without filling out a 4473. So there really are not a lot of guns sitting around that can be had without a back-ground check.
There are plenty of curio and relic guys you could buy a WWII era bolt action with an internal magazine without a 4473 but who really cares? I’m guessing the number of shootings with Swedish 6.5x55mm are on the low side.
Now what does happen. If you have frequented local shows enough to know who is who then you will know there are usually a few guys who will rent a table now and then and buy and sell from their personal collections. They usually have the best stuff BTW. Depending on your state they may not be required to 4473 so that would be a way to circumvent a 4473. But buying a gun after asking around for who is sell without a background check is a quick way to get arrested or bum rushed as previously mentioned.
So, is there a loop hole? Sure. But it is more like an audition for worlds dumbest criminals.
All the drug kingpins know if you want illegal guns in large quantities you should contact the ATF..
May 22, 2017 @ 15:23:58
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