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THE GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE? (It's us!)
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
THE GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE? (It's us!)
By Peter Caroline - The Blue Press
There's been a lot of discussion about the so-called "gun show loophole." The anti-gunners would have us believe that the average American gun show is a "one-stop shopping center" for criminals and terrorists, and that because not every exhibitor is an FFL dealer, unauthorized individuals can readily obtain guns at a gun show without undergoing a background check.
I'll readily admit, the latter statement is probably true but, according to Department of Justice figures, highly unlikely. Records indicate that criminals obtain the vast majority of their guns by stealing hem or buying or renting them from other criminals. There is only a miniscule percentage of criminals who have obtained their guns at gun shows. Why?
First, because it's easier to buy them from other criminals or steal them. Second, because purchasing a gun at a show results in more public contact and exposure than most criminals want. Third, because finding a bargain at today's gun shows is about as likely as finding gold nuggets in a cow pie. Even that small minority of non-FFL gun sellers at any given show keep a Blue Book handy. They know the nominal value of whatever modern gun they might be selling, and they usually are asking at least twice that amount.
All right, let's say that a criminal, someone barred for one reason or another from buying a gun legally, buys a gun "off-paper" at a gun show. Then what? First of all, they've committed a felony by purchasing the gun. Second of all, they will be committing an even more serious felony by using that now-illegal gun in the commission of a crime. And it's up to law enforcement to apprehend them. Couldn't we have prevented all this crime by making every seller do background checks? Not really. People who are inclined to commit crimes will, by definition, do so regardless of the law. Besides which, if FFL dealers and ordinary citizens are to be required by the government to perform crime prevention duties, shouldn't the government compensate them for their efforts? As far as I know, the 13th Amendment is still on the books.
The anti-gunners claim that a significant number of exhibitors at gun shows have no FFL. They're right. At most gun shows, unfortunately, a growing number of exhibitors are offering only fierce T-shirts, Korean-made "military surplus" web gear, home made pastries and beef jerky, plus backscratchers and other non-gun items. It's pretty sad.
Now, what about terrorists? The Brady Bunch, AGS and other information-challenged anti-gunners have cited incidents of known terrorists buying guns at gun shows. What they have not cited is the fact that in both instances, the offending parties were arrested shortly afterward. The system does work. But more to the point, if you were a terrorist and you wanted to buy large quantities of selective-fire weapons, ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, landmines and explosives for your little group, where would you go... to an American gun show, or to the bazaars of such countries as Pakistan and Yemen? Next time you're at a gun show, check out the price of a semiauto-only Kalashnikov clone. You can get the rock 'n roll version for one-third the price in the Middle East. These people may be nuts, but they're not stupid.
The anti-gunners, on the other hand, are neither crazy nor stupid. Their primary, albeit unspoken, objection to gun shows has nothing to do with criminals or terrorists. It's us. We, the great 99+ percent of all legitimate, law-abiding gun owners, scare the living bejesus out of the anti-gunners. We are not people that they can control. We have the freedom, in most jurisdictions, to sell, trade or give guns to each other... with no government record of the transaction. The independent, non-FFL seller at the show, whether he has guns displayed on a table or is walking around with one price-tagged gun slung on his shoulder, is an affront to those who firmly believe that what is not mandatory should be prohibited, and that the government should have every aspect of our lives recorded on a database. The gun show, because it is a public venue, is their first line of attack. look carefully at all the proposed federal and state attempts to close the "gun show loophole," and you will see provisions that could impact on private gun sales, trades or transfers outside of shows... eventually at your gun club or even your home. Their ultimate goal is to register every gun in this country, and every gun owner, too. You want to leave your guns to your children or grandchildren or a good friend? No sweat, just fill out these government forms and pay the transfer fees.
We gun owners have been accused, in regard to this "gun show loophole" issue, of being paranoid, which means having delusions of persecution. If, however, you will spend at least a few minutes reading and pondering what the anti-gunners are proposing, you'll agree that the persecution is quite real, and not delusional. Free, gun-owning Americans are, in fact, the "gun show loophole," and there are people out there who would happily put an end to our freedom, by whatever means necessary. http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=2631
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By Peter Caroline - The Blue Press
There's been a lot of discussion about the so-called "gun show loophole." The anti-gunners would have us believe that the average American gun show is a "one-stop shopping center" for criminals and terrorists, and that because not every exhibitor is an FFL dealer, unauthorized individuals can readily obtain guns at a gun show without undergoing a background check.
I'll readily admit, the latter statement is probably true but, according to Department of Justice figures, highly unlikely. Records indicate that criminals obtain the vast majority of their guns by stealing hem or buying or renting them from other criminals. There is only a miniscule percentage of criminals who have obtained their guns at gun shows. Why?
First, because it's easier to buy them from other criminals or steal them. Second, because purchasing a gun at a show results in more public contact and exposure than most criminals want. Third, because finding a bargain at today's gun shows is about as likely as finding gold nuggets in a cow pie. Even that small minority of non-FFL gun sellers at any given show keep a Blue Book handy. They know the nominal value of whatever modern gun they might be selling, and they usually are asking at least twice that amount.
All right, let's say that a criminal, someone barred for one reason or another from buying a gun legally, buys a gun "off-paper" at a gun show. Then what? First of all, they've committed a felony by purchasing the gun. Second of all, they will be committing an even more serious felony by using that now-illegal gun in the commission of a crime. And it's up to law enforcement to apprehend them. Couldn't we have prevented all this crime by making every seller do background checks? Not really. People who are inclined to commit crimes will, by definition, do so regardless of the law. Besides which, if FFL dealers and ordinary citizens are to be required by the government to perform crime prevention duties, shouldn't the government compensate them for their efforts? As far as I know, the 13th Amendment is still on the books.
The anti-gunners claim that a significant number of exhibitors at gun shows have no FFL. They're right. At most gun shows, unfortunately, a growing number of exhibitors are offering only fierce T-shirts, Korean-made "military surplus" web gear, home made pastries and beef jerky, plus backscratchers and other non-gun items. It's pretty sad.
Now, what about terrorists? The Brady Bunch, AGS and other information-challenged anti-gunners have cited incidents of known terrorists buying guns at gun shows. What they have not cited is the fact that in both instances, the offending parties were arrested shortly afterward. The system does work. But more to the point, if you were a terrorist and you wanted to buy large quantities of selective-fire weapons, ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, landmines and explosives for your little group, where would you go... to an American gun show, or to the bazaars of such countries as Pakistan and Yemen? Next time you're at a gun show, check out the price of a semiauto-only Kalashnikov clone. You can get the rock 'n roll version for one-third the price in the Middle East. These people may be nuts, but they're not stupid.
The anti-gunners, on the other hand, are neither crazy nor stupid. Their primary, albeit unspoken, objection to gun shows has nothing to do with criminals or terrorists. It's us. We, the great 99+ percent of all legitimate, law-abiding gun owners, scare the living bejesus out of the anti-gunners. We are not people that they can control. We have the freedom, in most jurisdictions, to sell, trade or give guns to each other... with no government record of the transaction. The independent, non-FFL seller at the show, whether he has guns displayed on a table or is walking around with one price-tagged gun slung on his shoulder, is an affront to those who firmly believe that what is not mandatory should be prohibited, and that the government should have every aspect of our lives recorded on a database. The gun show, because it is a public venue, is their first line of attack. look carefully at all the proposed federal and state attempts to close the "gun show loophole," and you will see provisions that could impact on private gun sales, trades or transfers outside of shows... eventually at your gun club or even your home. Their ultimate goal is to register every gun in this country, and every gun owner, too. You want to leave your guns to your children or grandchildren or a good friend? No sweat, just fill out these government forms and pay the transfer fees.
We gun owners have been accused, in regard to this "gun show loophole" issue, of being paranoid, which means having delusions of persecution. If, however, you will spend at least a few minutes reading and pondering what the anti-gunners are proposing, you'll agree that the persecution is quite real, and not delusional. Free, gun-owning Americans are, in fact, the "gun show loophole," and there are people out there who would happily put an end to our freedom, by whatever means necessary. http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=2631
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY RIGHTS - GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY (this includes politicians)
jim messer