Guns Kill – Close The Gun Show Loophole

What do John Bedell, Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold, have in common? All three used firearms purchased at gun shows without background checks to carry out their deadly deeds: John Bedell injured two Pentagon police officers in March, and Harris and Klebold killed 12 students, a teacher, and themselves at Columbine High School in 1999.

As I wrote in my blog on April 20, the 11th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings, Harris and Klebold had a friend get four high-powered weapons, no-questions-asked, from a gun show dealer.

A year later, on Mother’s Day, 2000, I stood with 750,000 others in front of the nation’s Capitol for the Million Mom March. We were a very diverse group, female and male, grandparents and babies, many ethnicities and cultures, from all corners of the United States, brought together by the desperate need to make a change in our gun laws. We came away from that march feeling transformed by the powerful emotions we were experiencing, and the possibilities of change.

How can it be that we are still waiting for that change? Ten years later, in 2010, the situation is much the same as it was then. Thirty thousand people are still killed by guns every year in this country. Public polls show a majority favoring the closing of the gun show loophole by a wide margin, but in 33 states no laws have been passed to require buyers at gun shows to undergo background checks. This means that although federally licensed gun sellers must conduct a background check before selling a weapon, private dealers who attend gun shows are not required to make sure customers can legally purchase a gun. That’s right: no background check, no questions asked, and no record of where the guns go.

Legislation before Congress would close this gun show loophole by requiring background checks for all purchases. Around one hundred lawmakers have shown the courage to stand up to the powerful gun lobby and sign on to a bill, sponsored by Representative Carolyn McCarthy, Democrat of New York, and Michael Castle, Republican of Delaware, to close the gun show loophole. Nowadays, background checks can be perfomed in just a few minutes, so the only people to suffer any inconvenience would be the buyers who couldn’t pass the test.

Pressure is growing. To urge passage of this legislation, a national coalition of 500 mayors from all across America has formed Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and is campaigning hard. Care2 has teamed with Mayors Against Illegal Guns to ask Congress to close the gun show loophole. Please go to http://www.care2.com/go/z/19840006 to take action and sign our petition. And thank you for taking a proactive stand on this serious issue.

Creative Commons - tanvach
Judy Molland

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David A.

9:11AM PDT on Aug 22, 2011

This post is full of misinformation. The gun show loophole doesn't exist. Any dealer that sells at a gun show must follow all the rules. Only individual sales are exempt and I would have a problem with the government telling how I have to handle my private property. As a retired law enforcement officer, I view restrictions on honest citizens possession of firearms as counterproductive to public safety and only to the advantage of potential tyrants.

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Imaghn I.

8:22PM PDT on Apr 3, 2011

If I purchased a gun from my cousin and we made the transaction in his driveway would it be the Driveway Loophole that we need to close? If I purchased a gun from my father would the Primary-residence Loophole need closing?

Gunshows are not the only place private sales take place. Also, a person selling their private property, gun, does not make them a dealer. Does selling your used car make you an unlicensed car dealer?

There is nothing about gunshows that need closing. If you want to prevent people from selling their property to other others just say so!

Ray And Gail B.

4:49PM PDT on May 2, 2010

well regardless the reason people own guns but crimanals don't need a gun show to buy a gun. i can go buy a gun for 100$ down the streat with no searal numbers on it. crimanals have always had a black market i live in a getho of phoenix i'ved lived here for 6 yrs and see stupid people do stupid stuff and i know haw they get there guns and they get them just like they get drugs there r gun dealers just like drug dealers so lets make it harder for law abiding citiczens to buy guns and it still doesn't make it hard for the crimanals to buy them just something for u to think about

7:31AM PDT on May 2, 2010

the last country to ban fire arms watched crime rates go up and i'm from colorado born and raised lets not foreget it wasn't guns that killed everybody it was the kids and teachers for know there was a problem and ignoring it and letting everybody harrass thoses kids

Janice C.

1:11PM PDT on May 1, 2010

To Ellen: We own several hand guns. We also own several long guns. We shoot such things as metal targets. To my knowledge, people aren't made out of metal. All of the guns, hand and long, are registered. Each time you register a gun, a form is filled out, the dealer calls the FBI to certify that you are not a criminal, then the gun can be purchased. Neither me, my husband, son, or friends have ever shot a person. By registering them, when the time comes, the government will know exactly where to go to confiscate them. We live with that. The title of this article is misleading. Guns do not kill people! People kill people.

sue w.

6:50PM PDT on Apr 30, 2010

If you support banning guns then ban ALL guns including weapons used by Police and Military 'cos I don't want to be around without a gun in my hand when a cop or soldier goes balistic!.

6:30PM PDT on Apr 30, 2010

Glenna,
Handguns are also used for hunting and for protection when hunting. Rifles and shotguns are useless at close range when you become the intended prey of an animal. Some handguns are used for hunting where states allow handgun hunting. Much like archery hunting, the hunter must be at a closer range to use a handgun and must be a very accurate.
There are many collectors that collect military weapons for display. A special permit is needed because many military weapons are considered machine guns (fully automatic) while "assault weapons" look much like military weapons but are semi-automatic (trigger must be pulled each time one bullet is fired). "Assault weapons" are also used for hunting, using hunting ammunition, because they are very accurate and still only fire one bullet each time the trigger is pulled.
I've been to many gun shows and they are usually represented well with members of the BATF, FBI and law enforcement in plain clothes. Criminals would have to be pretty stupid to show up at a gun show and try to buy a gun. To buy a machine gun at a gun show, you must present a Class 3 FFL license. No criminal can get one of those licenses, because you must prove you have a spotless criminal and mental history to get one.
Ellen,
Too many Americans don't respect the lives of others and as long as that is the case, the will always be a need for guns for protection in America by law abiding citizens that can't be properly protected by law enforcement.

5:06PM PDT on Apr 30, 2010

Thank you Judy for an interesting article. Reading the comments made me glad that I don't live in the US anymore. What a sick culture. You have to protect yourself from one another-as some say.
I was surprised by how many people here, on Care2 are into gun ownership. I would never own a gun myself.
The paradigm has to shift to support and trust, not fear and hatred.
My father was a gun collector and hunter. He had my brother and I take an NRA shooting course when we were in Elementary school. I would never own a gun myself.
People shouldn't own handguns and if they do, they should have to register them.
If there are less guns, or they are harder to get, less folks will die from being shot. Simple really.