Gun Show “Loophole” Has No Effect On Gun Crime
October 3, 2008
A recent joint study done by the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland showed that gun shows do not contribute to the purchasing availability of criminals. This has long been an argument presented by those wishing to ban guns stating that gun shows allowed criminals to bypass legal channels in buying guns.
According to Market Watch, gun control advocates need to find another scare tactic to use.
Tom Remington
Related Articles
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
We feature the latest news, events and politics effecting the sports of hunting, fishing, and all outdoor activities in North America.
In January 2007, Representatives Mike Castle (R-DE), Christopher Shays (R-CT), and Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced the “Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2007†(H.R. 96). The bill would require background checks on the sale of all firearms at gun shows, and increase penalties for record keeping and criminal background check violations. The bill has yet to be considered in committee.[22]
Additionally, Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) has introduced S. 2237, the “Crime Control and Prevention Act of 2007,†which would require background checks on sale of all firearms at gun shows.[23]
If you walk along the aisles at any gun show, you will find that the overwhelming majority of guns offered for sale are from federally licensed dealers. Guns sold by private individuals (such as gun collectors getting rid of a gun or two over the the weekend) are the distinct minority.
Yet HCI claims that “25-50 percent of the vendors at most gun shows are unlicensed dealers.” That statistic is true only if one counts vendors who aren’t selling guns (e.g., vendors who are selling books, clothing or accessories) as “unlicensed dealers.”
Denver congresswoman Diana DeGette says that 70 percent of guns used in crimes come from gun shows. The true figure is rather different, according to the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. According to an NIJ study (“Homicide in Eight U.S. Cities,” a report that covers much more than homicide), only 2 percent of criminal guns come from gun shows.
That finding is consistent with a study for the NIJ, which investigated the gun purchase and use habits of convicted felons in 12 state prisons. The study (later published as the book Armed and Considered Dangerous) found that gun shows were such a minor source of criminal gun acquisition that they were not even worth reporting as a separate figure.
At the most recent meeting of the American Society of Criminology, a study of youthful offenders in Michigan found that only 3 percent of the youths in the study had acquired their last handgun from a gun show. (Of course some criminal gun acquisition at gun shows is perpetrated by “straw purchasers” who are legal gun buyers acting as surrogates for the individual who wants the gun. Straw purchases have been federal felonies since 1968.)
According to the educational arm of HCI, the group’s own survey of major-city police chiefs found only 2 out of 48 who said that guns from gun shows (both “legal and illegal sales” according to the questionnaire) were a major problem in their city.
But when were facts ever considered or even looked at by those who want to shove their world view down our throats!!