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Home-based gun sellers protest law change
Josey1
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Home-based gun sellers protest law changeFederal government now requires firearms dealers to get local zoning varianceBY MARK KIESLING Times Staff WriterPosted Friday, November 23, 2001It looks pretty much like every other house around it, a spacious well-kept ranch on the outskirts of Crown Point with nothing on the outside to show what sets it apart from its neighbors.What does set it apart is inside the home.It's the same thing that makes its owner skittish about disclosing its address and his name for public scrutiny: Machine guns, handguns, shotguns, so-called assault rifles and other gun-related items such as silencers, flash suppressers and ammunition.The owner is not some fringe lunatic hiding from government scrutiny. He is a firearms dealer, registered with the federal government, who does business from his home.There are more than 100 people in Lake and Porter counties who deal firearms out of their homes, much like other people sell Mary Kay, Amway or Longaberger baskets. Most have done so for years without a complaint from the government or from their neighbors. But this year is different. This year, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which regulates the gun industry in the United States and enforces weapons laws, is not renewing the federal firearms licenses of dealers who are not in compliance with local zoning laws.This does not affect gun shops zoned for business but has the practical effect of putting an end to what ATF agents call the "basement dealers" who sell from private homes.The basement dealers don't expect a great deal of public sympathy, but point out they are selling a legal product in conformity with existing federal law."If they don't like the product we sell, then outlaw the product," said Mike Stevens, a "basement dealer" who sells guns over the Internet from his home in south Lake County."But until then, don't tell me the product is controversial until it is outlawed. My whole business is Internet; I only do mail-order machine guns. I do not sell any guns out of my home."Local and federal officials say the dealers are not exactly in conformity with all laws, specifically those that govern zoning and say what can and cannot be done with a piece of property. Property zoned residential cannot be used for commercial sales without a specific exemption called a variance.Until June 1997, the federal form that firearms dealers must fill out did not mention zoning laws. Since then, they have added a box that an applicant must check assuring the government the property from which the guns will be sold is properly zoned for those sales."It's now a question on the forms," said ATF Special Agent Jerry Cajka, area supervisor of the Cleveland office of the ATF that regulates what the bureau calls industry operations."If they fill out that form and say they are in compliance, but do not have the zoning variance then they are lying. If they answer yes, and they are not in compliance, they did not do their homework, and the burden is on them to know the zoning laws."Cajka said he cannot concern himself with whether gun dealers are being subjected to closer scrutiny than other home-based businesses. "The government does not regulate Mary Kay sales people," he said.But the basement dealers respond that the forced disclosure of the information exposes them to the enforcement of zoning laws while others routinely violate the same zoning laws by operating retail sales and businesses from the homes.They pointed this out to the local plan commission. Assistant County Planning Director Ned Kovacevich said they may be right -- and said if they have any evidence of violation of zoning laws they should turn them over to him to be investigated."My exact words, my first thought, was, why would I rat someone out?" said Rick Rocha, a licensed gunsmith who makes custom-crafted weapons in his south Lake County home. "But when I find out someone is making $50,000 a year selling cosmetics out of their garage, and I can't even make $5,000 out of mine, then I think again."Corinth Bishop, an attorney who has a license to deal firearms from his home, said the county must either enforce the laws uniformly or face a lawsuit.The county has two inspectors, Kovacevich said, and they do not have the time to drive over hundreds of miles of county roads looking for people who may be selling Avon or Watkins products out of their homes without a variance or who may be running an unlicensed beauty parlor or bootleg TV repair shop in their garages. But if they are given names and addresses, he said, they will investigate.Kovacevich said he has discussed this several times with the basement dealers, and each time has explained to them they may legally sell their product if they apply for a variance to their zoning, and it is approved by the Lake County Council.Kovacevich admitted the zoning board probably would make a negative recommendation to the council on allowing a variance for any home sales but said the council is not bound by that recommendation."I tell them there is a procedure by which they can become fully compliant," he said. "They just don't want to do it for some reason." He said the sticking point usually comes when the basement dealers realize that by law, they must notify all their neighbors of what they plan to sell, must advertise in a newspaper the request with their address and must go before the council in a public meeting.The dealers concede they are not keen on everyone knowing they sell guns from their homes."Look at what happened in Glenwood. Look at how Frank Freund was murdered," Stevens said. "We have wives and kids to think about."Freund was shot and killed in his business, Firearms Unlimited, in Hammond in March 2000. Four gang members have been charged in U.S. District Court with the murder. In Glenwood in 1998, the father and son owners of Glenwood Gun Shop were shot and killed. One alleged gang member pleaded guilty in the killings and four others are awaiting trial in Cook County Circuit Court.So why do Rocha, Stevens and the others sell guns and not Amway?"It's like asking why Michael Jordan is coming back to basketball," Stevens said. "He doesn't need the money, he doesn't need the hassle, he does it for the love of the game, and guns are like that. It's like owning a classic automobile."Rocha said, "I just enjoy it. I enjoy learning about guns, I enjoy shooting them. I enjoy firearms."Both men, like many of their counterparts, own successful businesses and pursue the gun business as a sideline. They would not go broke if they lost their licenses. But they balk at the principle."We jump through the hoops, then they set up another hoop," Stevens said. "Give us a set of laws, let us do business within those. Give us a level playing field, and we'll play on it."Mark Kiesling can be reached at markk@howpubs.com or (219) 662-5330. http://www.thetimesonline.com/index.pl/article?id=1337001
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Support your RKBA ... MatthewNRA Life MemberTalk Radio Junkie opaliski@hotmail.com TheFirearmsEnthusiast[This message has been edited by M.Opaliski (edited 11-24-2001).]
Certified SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of the General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the premier gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net Jesus is Lord![This message has been edited by nunn (edited 11-24-2001).]
Support your RKBA ... MatthewNRA Life MemberTalk Radio Junkie opaliski@hotmail.com TheFirearmsEnthusiast