Unified approach to closing "The Gun Show Loophole"?

[wqbang]

I have noticed that many states have bills in legislature to ban the so called "Gun Show Loophole", as well as in the Federal Legislature. I have also noticed that newspaper editorials are popping up everywhere in support, as well as individual reporters quoting anti-gunners about the "Gun Show Loophole" in articles involving shootings. Bloomberg's mayors group is pushing it hard as well.

They seem to be going at this hard and heavy and frankly it makes me nervous. Especially in normally gun friendly Washington state where we now have a Democratic supermajority in the House and Senate as well as a Democratic governor.

Looks like a well coordinated attack to me on the national and state level. Are we prepared to defend? For those of you who were thinking gun control was going to be off the legislative agenda, you were wrong.

 

[Smurfslayer]

You're not the only one to notice this. Here in Virginia they propose this yearly and this year's effort has gotten friendly press in almost every print outlet available. Facts be damned; it doesn't matter if what the antis say is a lie, it matters that they agree. After all, Op-Ed pieces are meant to sway opinion. I think that what we're seeing is an emboldened set of freedom haters who aspire to complete State control over every aspect of life, starting with firearms.

Framing the discussion matters. Call it a loophole and all other things being equal the association most people give it is that it's "bad" and "needs closing". Because we're almost always fighting a defensive battle; trying to prevent further restrictions, we're not accustomed to being on the offensive. As a group, we haven't figured out how to "pre-frame" the discussion like the antis have, we've traditionally relied on fact-based arguments exposing the antis to be, well... liars. Unfortunately that only plays with the intellectual crowd, not the fence sitting "middle of the road" voters who aren't really involved in this.

These op-eds are like "push polling". A smarmy, underhanded way to shape opinion without the unseemly stigma associated with telling someone that they must think a certain way. The only viable counters to this are the traditional, fact-based Letters to the editor, state delegates, senators and governors, and encouraging others to do the same.

 

[carnaby]

The western half of this state is starting to be a drag. It is sure irritating that the coasts belong to the anti gun types.

 

[buzz_knox]

There has been an observable link between gun control efforts and the media for some time. Stories get run about the dangers of firearms and the need for regulation right about the time politicians need to run up support for legislation.

It's no real surprise given, as the NBC producer fired for faking the exploding truck "tests" said, the media's role is in part to advance agendas it prefers. And when various smaller outlets simply copy stories from the larger news sources, it's depressingly easy to do.

 

[DHard3006]

There is no such thing as a gun show loophole. The people the gun haters are crying about at the gun shows are obeying the background check law. The gun haters agreed to the law for background checks the way it is now being enforced. If the gun haters did not like the law then why did the gun haters vote for it?

 

[Jim March]

Yeah, there's a central playbook they're operating from. There will also be efforts to close down all private off-paper sales.

Sigh.

 

[Sharps-shooter]

maybe gun shows are going to go the way of the hardware-store gun rack. I don't know.

If people were really interested in reducing gun crime through restrictive legislation, they'd eb trying to figure out how to close the "I bought it from my friend who stole it" loophole.

 

[geekWithA.45]

There will also be efforts to close down all private off-paper sales.

That's not a side effect, cradle to grave gun traceability is the goal, subject to stepwise implementation.

A main effect of cradle to grave gun traceability is, of course, to cut off plausible deniability with respect to disposition of arms if and when they come round gathering them all up.

 

[Zero_DgZ]

There's no such thing as a gun show "loophole." People at gun shows have to follow the same laws as people who aren't: Dealers have to file 4473's and do background checks on all purchasers, and private party transactions (a minority, at gun shows, by the way) must be conducted according to federal and state law. This means that sales to residents of other states have to do the 4473 dance, and states often have additional restrictions on the private sale of handguns (PA leaps to mind, my state of residence). So what's the big deal?

As usual, the anti-second-amendment sect isn't worried about crime, justice, or safety - they're worried about distorting the truth as far as they have to in order to dismantle the rights outlined in the second amendment.

 

[MD_Willington]

The western half of this state is starting to be a drag. It is sure irritating that the coasts belong to the anti gun types.

No kidding, I got a callback from my Legislator on the East side here, he WILL NOT support closing the "loop hole"... says it is not a problem and will probably go nowhere in the house.

 

[mbt2001]

What I cannot figure out is why the Democrats are Anti gun?

It is almost like there is an unspoken agreement between the parties, the Dems go after guns and pass "campaign finance reform" and laws against special interest groups...

then the republicans pass patriot acts, kill habius corpus and listen to everyones phone calls...

When one group runs out of steam, the other comes in and heads the other direction... They keep passing the ball every 15 or so years.

Between the two, there is getting to be less and less of an alternative...

 

[ArmedBear]

the Dems go after guns and pass "campaign finance reform" and laws against special interest groups...

then the republicans pass patriot acts, kill habius corpus and listen to everyones phone calls...

...and the Libertarians don't ever ask ourselves, "Which of these sets of alternatives actually impacts me negatively?" or "Do the Feds REALLY listen to my phone?" and continue to throw votes down the toilet...

 

[wqbang]

The western half of this state is starting to be a drag. It is sure irritating that the coasts belong to the anti gun types.

It's not even the western half, it is seemingly just Seattle proper, and even then I think it is a small minority of Seattelites at that. They just have the ear and the sympathy of the media. You would be amazed at the shear number of gunnies in the Puget Sound area. In fact, Seattle Magazine just did a piece on the amazingly large "Gun Culture" in Seattle.

 

[Shovelhead]

Virginia just shot it down in flames.....again.

http://news.wjla.com/news/stories/0107/391199.html

 

[Waitone]

When Gore lost TN that signaled the end of in-your-face anti-gun politics at the national level for the foreseeable future. It cost them the presidency and it agitated a powerful bloc of voters. Follow on strategy was to move to the states and be satisfied with something less than a whole loaf.

They haven't gone away. They are still at it. They will be back when they perceive the time is right for a big national push.

 

[gezzer]

There is no Gun Show Loophole, same as there is no Easter bunny, Bambi or Santa. Dem's and anti's live in FANTASY land.:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

 

[gyp_c2]

uhhhh...

...you were kiddin' 'bout the Easter Bunny...right?

 

[dave_pro2a]

Of course they want to ban the so-called gun show 'loop hole.'

Because that is a ban on private transfers! It's the first step to making all private transfers illegal (or at least state controlled).

 

[Diamondback]

It's not even the western half, it is seemingly just Seattle proper, and even then I think it is a small minority of Seattelites at that. They just have the ear and the sympathy of the media. You would be amazed at the shear number of gunnies in the Puget Sound area. In fact, Seattle Magazine just did a piece on the amazingly large "Gun Culture" in Seattle

There are lots of us out here in Seattle who support 2nd Amendment rights.....and own guns. Hell I've got neighbors that are so liberal they make me cringe when we start talkin' politics.....but when we get around to discussing gun ownership rights they nearly all tell me they grew up with firearms in the house and keep'em around now that they are grown with families of their own. Folks around here don't often fit a mold. Had a co-worker years ago....as liberal as they come....carried concealed wherever he went and had a NRA membership card in his wallet. Ya could hardly peg this guy ????

-regards

 

[ranger335v]

It's true that there is no "gunshow loophole" and gunshows are not the target of the proposals. The liberals who wish to control and regiment our lives - for our own good of couse, since they really love us in "fly-over county" you know - and that means the Democrats, simply phrase the argument in words that get public support. You know, the way Lenin and Hitler and Castro promised a workers paradise if we just let them have contol of things for a little while.

The target, of course, is to get contol of, and limit, ALL PRIVATE TRANSFERS OF FIREARMS. If the "loophole" is closed, none of us could give our cousin or son or brother one of our guns as a gift, nor leave our collections to our kids or grandkids without first begging the government to allow it. And, if those benevelents should allow it, the transfers will have to be done in a state sanctified way by a local gun dealer, including paying him a fee and the government a fee (tax) for each gun involved. In fact, if we should die before our wives, she whould also have to go through the same expensive process just to keep our collections in the home. (They've got to be careful of us common citizen/serfs you know. )

And the Dems do have a program telling their future political candidates how to get past the resistance of gun owners to vote for them. They are simply to lie about their real intentions until Dems can get enough of a majority to pass their real plans!

 

[gezzer]

...you were kiddin' 'bout the Easter Bunny...right?

Yea I was kidding about the Easter Bunny , Sorry

 

[Art Eatman]

The last I recall public testimony by Official People before Congress concerning firearms and crime was for the assault weapon ban.

The quasi-official number at that time, per some fed, was that approximately two percent (2%) of firearms used in crimes were acquired at gunshows.

Given the general decline in sales offers in newspapers over these recent years (I look; so does my wife who's an avid reader of ads) and the apparent lesser numbers of private sellers at gunshows where I've had a table, I find it a bit difficult to believe that the 2% number is changed...

Art