Gun Shows Make Changes After Sting
Published: October 15, 2009
DAYTON, Ohio—A gun show operator says changes are being made after an undercover multi-state sting by the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg said private unlicensed gun dealers were captured on video selling weapons to undercover investigators who admitted they couldn’t pass background checks.
Dave Goodman, manager of Bill Goodman’s Gun and Knife Show, said Wednesday that the shows will offer free booths to police and federal firearms agents, strengthen background checks and educate sellers on recognizing straw buyers attempting to get guns for prohibited purchasers.
Stings were conducted by Bloomberg’s investigators at seven gun shows in Tennessee, Nevada and Ohio, including the Dayton and Cincinnati areas.
Bloomberg says the stings highlight a loophole.
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You would have to verify the 10 gun limit with a real expert, but that is what I’ve been told. It seems like a fair number. I believe there is a restriction on the number of cars a private individual can sell in one year too.
I think the big issue at hand, and what divides the anti-gun, from pro gun, and even further divides the pro-gun group up, is whether or not a private individual has the right to sell a gun to another private individual, without requiring a background check.
I’ve heard all arguments. The most common argument for pro 2nd amendment is that not only are citizens allowed to own guns(as granted by the 2nd) but they are also allowed to sell private property without government interference.
The flip side, is that it clearly leads to guns being sold to those who could not buy a weapon through a licensed FFL.
I think there are four types of gun related shootings:
1) Accidents
2) Manslaughter
3) Homicide
4) Suicide
Accidents can be reduced by proper training. We apparently recognize this in other areas, as we train drivers, train professionals of every industry, etc. Yet, somehow, the idea of training people safe firearms use is out of the question.
There is little that can be done about manslaughter. If an otherwise normal person becomes so enraged that they kill another person, it likely doesn’t matter what they have.
Homicides- I’d have to look through the number, but I believe a good number of these are gang related. Take the profit incentive away from gangs, and they are less likely to form or stay together. How do we do that? Change the drug war. One simple step: legalized cannabis sales. The cartels take 60% of their profit from it. No business(which a cartel basically is) can survive a 60% loss in profits, annually.
Suicides - This is a complex issue. Perhaps more readily available and effective mental health counseling. If a person is planning on suicide, a gun might seem attractive, but barring that, there are plenty of ways to get the job done. Anti gun people often cite Japan as an example of a gun free society, but the Japanese have a really, really high suicide rate.
To put it in perspective, the US has a population of 300,000,000, we have roughly 33,000 suicides a year.
Japan has a population of 128,000,000. They have roughly, 32,000 suicides a year.
Thaiguy, I was unaware of the 10 gun limit per year but I guess you would have to set some limit to differentiate between private seller and dealer.
I think I was posting a comment (it’s actually my first) because I am just tired of the politicians beating the “Gunshow Loophole” to death when I don’t see it as being any different than having a “Dispatch Classified Ads Loophole” or a “Craigslist Loophole”. My guess is once they close the gunshow loophole the next step will be to make the private sale between private owners illegal too.
I also agree completely with your first post. I still remember the fire arms safety training we were given by the Ohio DNR in 6th grade (many years ago) but it always stuck with me.
Michael, I believe you have the right to sell 10 of your firearms to instate individuals, per year. Once you exceed that limit you need to have an FFL. If you sell your gun to an out of state resident, that gun will need to be shipped to a valid FFL holder for transfer.
I think the loophole they are describing is that a private seller can sell his firearms to another private buyer, without any background check at all. Which means there is a legal way for a seller to sell to a person who is making an illegal gun purchase. Apparently this happens a lot.
I am wary of most anti-gun politicians because they clearly demonstrate a lack of firearms knowledge. Unfortunately, our politicians lack knowledge in many areas where they pass legislation, and that leads to horrible, horrible laws and regulations.
The article says “Bloomberg said private unlicensed gun dealers”. Define “private unlicensed gun dealer”. Are they talking about the average citizen that has a gun he wants to sell or trade? There is nothing illegal about advertising a gun for sale in the paper or online. If I want to sell you my old Remington 870 to raise a little cash we can do it in my front yard without any background check. As far as I’m concerned if I wanted to liquidate my entire collection as a private citizen I should (and believe I do) have the right to rent a booth at a gun show and make private sales just like I could advertise them in the Dispatch and sell them.
I’m really tired of these rabid anti-gun politicians rambling on about ficticious gun show “loopholes”. If it’s a licensed dealer they have to follow the same rules about background checks as in their store. If it’s a private citizen or collector that is an entirely different matter.
I think you answered your own question. It wasn’t mentioned in this report, but other stories mentioned that Ohio was targeted for this sting because Ohio is the single biggest supplier for illegal firearms in New York City, and that sting, unfortunately, verified that.
I do not have a problem with them running background checks at gun shows, personally this should be done. My problem with this story is how in the heck does the city of New York have any jurisdictional right to be in Dayton or Cincinnati, OH or Tennessee or Nevada. Sounds like they are trying to impose their strict gun laws on another state. And yes I realize criminals from New York could get their hands on weapons bought here or anywhere else.
I’m just glad that the government can trust us to go by paperless, background check free guns from random sellers, in cash, but smoking a joint is too dangerous and must be prohibited at all costs.
I support gun rights. I’m a hunter, I’m a shooter, but the last time I went to a gun show, you could buy or trade a firearm with another collector, with absolutely no background check whatsoever. The only thing that happened was a Sheriff at the door checked my ID to see if I was over 18. After that, it was free and clear. This was several years ago, so perhaps it is different now.
I think this country would be a lot safer if we introduced firearms training into our public classrooms. Teach all of our kids proper gun handling techniques, safety procedures, etc. An educated child is much better than an ignorant child, and with a few hundred million guns in this country, the odds are good your child will encounter it. It would be much better if they knew what to do, and what not to do, and were confident enough to correct their friends from behaving stupidly.
Seriously, the worst gun handlers I’ve ever seen in my life were those that were absolutely terrified of them, yet, for some reason, cannot resist the urge to pick them up and then hold them like they will jump out and bite them. Take the fear out, replace it with intelligence, and lessen the damage done by guns.
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