FW: Trib editorial gun show loophole
Date: Sep 24, 2003 3:37 PM
-----Original Message-----
From: John
Subject: Trib editorial gun show loophole
Friends- As always, the Tribune is full of... uh, OPINION, but oblivious to facts:
John Spangler
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/sep/09242003/opinion/95203.asp
Close gun-show loophole
Criminals should not be able to walk into a gun show and buy firearms. But they do.
The federal Brady law requires a background check of gun purchasers, but there is a hole in the law that Congress annually refuses to patch. The law requires federally licensed gun dealers to check the backgrounds of would-be buyers, but the law does not apply the same requirement to unlicensed sellers. This loophole is particularly worrisome at gun shows, where investigations by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have reported that criminals are able to buy guns.
Despite congressional paralysis, the Utah Legislature could close the gun-show gap with a state law. But it, too, has failed repeatedly to act. Bills drafted by former Rep. Dave Jones and by Rep. Scott Daniels, both Salt Lake City Democrats, never have gotten far in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Daniels' 2003 bill did not survive the black hole of the Rules Committee.
This is no surprise in a legislative body that this year gave people with permits to carry concealed weapons an explicit invitation to bring guns into schools. Senseless, but not surprising.
Still, the gun-show loophole takes the bloom off of otherwise encouraging statistics. A report last week showed that computerized criminal background checks on gun buyers are stopping sales not only to felons but also to people who have been convicted of misdemeanors associated with domestic violence. In fact, convicted felons are no longer the largest category of people who are denied a gun purchase.
The laws also are preventing sales to people who are subject to a protective order or an arrest warrant.
In addition, the laws deny legitimate sales to drug addicts, people who have been committed to a mental institution, illegal aliens, former members of the armed services who have been discharged under dishonorable conditions and people who have renounced U.S. citizenship.
Federally licensed gun dealers say that not many of their customers fail the background checks. In Utah, the Bureau of Criminal Identification reported that for the 12-month period through June 2003, only about 2.3 percent of the roughly 65,000 applications to buy guns were rejected.
An optimistic view is that most people who undergo a background check have clean records. A pessimistic view is that criminals know better than to try to buy guns from a legitimate dealer who will submit their names and records to scrutiny. So, they get their guns elsewhere or arrange to have someone with a clean record buy guns for them.
Closing the gun-show loophole will not solve this problem by itself, but it would help. And there's no good reason not to do it.
Date: Sep 24, 2003 3:37 PM
-----Original Message-----
From: John
Subject: Trib editorial gun show loophole
Friends- As always, the Tribune is full of... uh, OPINION, but oblivious to facts:
John Spangler
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/sep/09242003/opinion/95203.asp
Close gun-show loophole
Criminals should not be able to walk into a gun show and buy firearms. But they do.
The federal Brady law requires a background check of gun purchasers, but there is a hole in the law that Congress annually refuses to patch. The law requires federally licensed gun dealers to check the backgrounds of would-be buyers, but the law does not apply the same requirement to unlicensed sellers. This loophole is particularly worrisome at gun shows, where investigations by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have reported that criminals are able to buy guns.
Despite congressional paralysis, the Utah Legislature could close the gun-show gap with a state law. But it, too, has failed repeatedly to act. Bills drafted by former Rep. Dave Jones and by Rep. Scott Daniels, both Salt Lake City Democrats, never have gotten far in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Daniels' 2003 bill did not survive the black hole of the Rules Committee.
This is no surprise in a legislative body that this year gave people with permits to carry concealed weapons an explicit invitation to bring guns into schools. Senseless, but not surprising.
Still, the gun-show loophole takes the bloom off of otherwise encouraging statistics. A report last week showed that computerized criminal background checks on gun buyers are stopping sales not only to felons but also to people who have been convicted of misdemeanors associated with domestic violence. In fact, convicted felons are no longer the largest category of people who are denied a gun purchase.
The laws also are preventing sales to people who are subject to a protective order or an arrest warrant.
In addition, the laws deny legitimate sales to drug addicts, people who have been committed to a mental institution, illegal aliens, former members of the armed services who have been discharged under dishonorable conditions and people who have renounced U.S. citizenship.
Federally licensed gun dealers say that not many of their customers fail the background checks. In Utah, the Bureau of Criminal Identification reported that for the 12-month period through June 2003, only about 2.3 percent of the roughly 65,000 applications to buy guns were rejected.
An optimistic view is that most people who undergo a background check have clean records. A pessimistic view is that criminals know better than to try to buy guns from a legitimate dealer who will submit their names and records to scrutiny. So, they get their guns elsewhere or arrange to have someone with a clean record buy guns for them.
Closing the gun-show loophole will not solve this problem by itself, but it would help. And there's no good reason not to do it.
