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Team 4: Ohio Fails To Close 'Gun Show Loophole'
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Team 4: Ohio Fails To Close 'Gun Show Loophole'WTAE's Jim Parsons' ReportPOSTED: 6:05 p.m. EST February 1, 2002UPDATED: 8:36 a.m. EST February 4, 2002PITTSBURGH -- One recent Congressional report called Ohio a gun-runner's paradise. RELATED LINKSComment On Team 4's Report Americans For Gun Safety National Center For Policy Analysis The reasons are this: Ohio requires no permit to carry a weapon; it has no limits on the number of guns an individual can buy; and, unlike Pennsylvania, Ohio has failed to close the "gun show loophole." The following is a transcript of WTAE Team 4 reporter Jim Parsons' report that aired Feb. 1, 2002.
It's an easy buy at this Ohio gun show. No questions were asked by a guy trying to sell me a 22-caliber revolver. "I've got no ID to show you, is it still a sale?" asked Parsons. "Yeah. That's fine. It's fine? ID's not a problem," said the unidentified salesman. "No. Because I'm from Pennsylvania. Is that all right?" said Parsons. "Yeah. I've got to get rid of this thing," said the salesman. Parsons: This is Ohio's gun show loophole in action. Unlike Pennsylvania, private individuals in Ohio are allowed to sell and buy handguns with no criminal background check. The only requirement is that these sellers make sure the buyer is also from Ohio. But that didn't seem to matter to the people Team 4 approached. "It shoots, too, believe me," said a salesman trying to sell me a 454-Casull, the largest caliber handgun made. His only concern is whether I'm a cop. Parsons said: "Let me ask you a question. I have no ID on me. Will you sell it to me?" "Uh, you an Ohio resident and all that?" he asked. "No, Pennsylvania," said Parsons. "Pennsylvania? You're not a law enforcement guy trying to set me up by any chance are you?" asked the seller. "No, I'm not law enforcement," said Parsons. "You sure? Positive. Because I don't need that," said the seller. "If you're a police officer, my son just got out of the hospital, I mean, well here you go sir. If you want to give me $400 for it, I'll take it." "You're a person who could be anybody. You could have been a convicted violent felon buying that gun, and no one would have stopped you," said Pittsburgh attorney and gun control advocate Kenny Steinberg. He is fighting for a federal law that would close the gun show loophole nationwide. "So that someone who wants to buy a gun in Pennsylvania and can't won't be able to drive 20 or 30 miles across the border and get one." Parsons: But pro-gun groups, like the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League, argue that gun shows are not the problem. "Private sales -- the sales between dealers and individuals -- is not the problem. The problem is black market of firearms," said Michael Slavonic of the Allegheny County Sportsmen. Parsons: But the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms said that gun shows ARE a problem. They are the third-highest source of illegal guns, behind theft and black market sales. As for Ohio, it ranks fifth nationally in the number of guns that end up in other states and are used in crimes. Willie Evans knows that first-hand. "I just remember hearing one gunshot, and everything happened so quick," he said. It was 1995. Willie was a senior at Farrell High School when, on the biggest day of his life, he came face to face with a gun purchased in Ohio. Just hours after scoring the winning touchdown at Three Rivers Stadium to give Farrell the WPIAL championship, Willie took a bullet to the head. "And then I remember just being on the ground crawling. I don't even know how I got out of the car. I just remember feeling the side of my head, and just looking at my hand and thinking it was glass out of the windshield," said Evans. Somehow, the bullet didn't pierce Willie's skull. As it turns out, the gunman mistook Willie for his brother, who was the intended target. The man who shot Willie was from Pennsylvania, but because Ohio doesn't require a handgun permit, he wanted to get his gun there. So, he convinced an Ohio friend to purchase the gun for him from a licensed dealer. The friend's sentence was two years probation. "I was a victim of a serious crime and it wasn't hard for them to get the weapons that they got because they just traveled about 20 miles to get it, just went over state lines," said Evans. With his football-playing days past him, Willie is about to graduate from Grambling University. And, fittingly, he's landed a job as a deputy U.S. Marshall. "Working for the federal government in law enforcement has been a dream for me since then and I want to just try to help as much as I can, get individuals like that off the streets," said Evans http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/team4/1217905/detail.html
It's an easy buy at this Ohio gun show. No questions were asked by a guy trying to sell me a 22-caliber revolver. "I've got no ID to show you, is it still a sale?" asked Parsons. "Yeah. That's fine. It's fine? ID's not a problem," said the unidentified salesman. "No. Because I'm from Pennsylvania. Is that all right?" said Parsons. "Yeah. I've got to get rid of this thing," said the salesman. Parsons: This is Ohio's gun show loophole in action. Unlike Pennsylvania, private individuals in Ohio are allowed to sell and buy handguns with no criminal background check. The only requirement is that these sellers make sure the buyer is also from Ohio. But that didn't seem to matter to the people Team 4 approached. "It shoots, too, believe me," said a salesman trying to sell me a 454-Casull, the largest caliber handgun made. His only concern is whether I'm a cop. Parsons said: "Let me ask you a question. I have no ID on me. Will you sell it to me?" "Uh, you an Ohio resident and all that?" he asked. "No, Pennsylvania," said Parsons. "Pennsylvania? You're not a law enforcement guy trying to set me up by any chance are you?" asked the seller. "No, I'm not law enforcement," said Parsons. "You sure? Positive. Because I don't need that," said the seller. "If you're a police officer, my son just got out of the hospital, I mean, well here you go sir. If you want to give me $400 for it, I'll take it." "You're a person who could be anybody. You could have been a convicted violent felon buying that gun, and no one would have stopped you," said Pittsburgh attorney and gun control advocate Kenny Steinberg. He is fighting for a federal law that would close the gun show loophole nationwide. "So that someone who wants to buy a gun in Pennsylvania and can't won't be able to drive 20 or 30 miles across the border and get one." Parsons: But pro-gun groups, like the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League, argue that gun shows are not the problem. "Private sales -- the sales between dealers and individuals -- is not the problem. The problem is black market of firearms," said Michael Slavonic of the Allegheny County Sportsmen. Parsons: But the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms said that gun shows ARE a problem. They are the third-highest source of illegal guns, behind theft and black market sales. As for Ohio, it ranks fifth nationally in the number of guns that end up in other states and are used in crimes. Willie Evans knows that first-hand. "I just remember hearing one gunshot, and everything happened so quick," he said. It was 1995. Willie was a senior at Farrell High School when, on the biggest day of his life, he came face to face with a gun purchased in Ohio. Just hours after scoring the winning touchdown at Three Rivers Stadium to give Farrell the WPIAL championship, Willie took a bullet to the head. "And then I remember just being on the ground crawling. I don't even know how I got out of the car. I just remember feeling the side of my head, and just looking at my hand and thinking it was glass out of the windshield," said Evans. Somehow, the bullet didn't pierce Willie's skull. As it turns out, the gunman mistook Willie for his brother, who was the intended target. The man who shot Willie was from Pennsylvania, but because Ohio doesn't require a handgun permit, he wanted to get his gun there. So, he convinced an Ohio friend to purchase the gun for him from a licensed dealer. The friend's sentence was two years probation. "I was a victim of a serious crime and it wasn't hard for them to get the weapons that they got because they just traveled about 20 miles to get it, just went over state lines," said Evans. With his football-playing days past him, Willie is about to graduate from Grambling University. And, fittingly, he's landed a job as a deputy U.S. Marshall. "Working for the federal government in law enforcement has been a dream for me since then and I want to just try to help as much as I can, get individuals like that off the streets," said Evans http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/team4/1217905/detail.html