The Gun Show Loophole

As the technology, build, and practicality of the hand gun changed over the past couple of hundred years, so has the increased want and demand. Of course, as more people started owning guns, the crime rate and deaths by gun shot up. Basically, it used to be every man for himself. As the government started worrying farther than just setting the rules but actually having people abide by the rules, laws and restrictions were set to try to regulate who owned guns and why they would use them. In 1934, Congress first started regulating the sale of automatic firearms. Not until four years later did the government think to make it federal law to require gun sellers to be licensed and to prohibit felons from purchasing them (Policy Issue p1). Even with rules that shops were supposed to follow, there are loopholes. The problem with some people in the U.S. is they will go buy guns because they have no criminal record, and then sell it to someone who is willing to pay them for the gun. Different laws over the years, still standing and also withdrawn, have spelled out different ideas of regulations, “The Gun Control Act of 1968 regulated imported guns, expanded gun-dealer licensing requirements, and expanded the list of persons not eligible to buy guns to include person convicted of any non-business related felony, minors, persons found to be mentally incompetent, and users of illegal drugs,” (Policy Issue p1). Gun

These people usually go to gun shows to sell firearms and many people refer to this as the gun show loophole. But these vendors don’t always have to go to gun shows, they can use classified ads or the internet to sell firearms without a background check. According to Watkins, “ Experts estimate that over six million guns a year - perhaps 40% of all sales – are made by unlicensed private dealers not subject to the law” (Watkins 5).

There are many places that forbid people from carrying guns such as schools, publicly owned buildings, and businesses. According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, over 98% of mass shootings happened in a zone where guns were prohibited. Even though there are many restrictions on firearms sale and possession, there are extensive loopholes that make it possible for people who should not be able to own gun, to be able to purchase one. One of the most common used loopholes is buying from a small scale seller, or going to a gun show. These kinds of deals do not require that an extensive background check be performed. Another blurry loophole involves the mentally ill being able to get their hands on a gun. The current law that prevents mentally handicapped people from owning a gun requires that a person must be adjudicated as mentally defective in a court of law. A majority of mentally handicapped people are never adjudicated and can petition the court to overturn the ruling. The purpose of these laws and its likely effect is not the same thing. Gun control laws are usually more of a state decision than a federal decision. Many states gun laws differ, such as in Rhode Island, any person with a concealed weapons permit can enter a public school, but in a state over in Massachusetts, you must have extensive written permission from the school

One example of a gun show loophole are private sellers who sells guns to people without background checks. According to the Coalition to stop Gun Violence (CSGV), a non-profit gun control advocacy organization, “Private sellers aren’t required to perform background checks on buyers, whether it’s at gun shows or another venue.They aren’t required to record sales or identification. To paraphrase, private sellers can choose to run background checks and not get in trouble for it. If we made private sellers run background checks, than there would be less shootings because we would know who and who can’t have guns. Another example is gun shows, which is temporary markets for guns and ammunition. CSGV also states, “26,000 firearms are used in crimes associated with gun shows. In other words, closing gun shows can also deter crime. If we close gun shows felons and mentally ill people won’t be able to buy guns and also three fifth of the states closed their gun show loophole and they continue to thrive. In short, closing gun shows can protect law-abiding citizens, while keeping guns out of the hands of those prohibited from owning them.Even though people against gun control might say smart gun laws are excuses to ban guns, they’re actually a good way to prevent shootings. One example for smarter gun laws are background

Laws have been put into place to help insure that guns are only sold to the people that are able to pass back ground checks. “With the 1994 Brady Handgun Violence and Prevention Act, Congress imposed a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases to allow law enforcement officers time to perform criminal background checks of potential buyers” (Front Line). This does not mean that guns do not fall into the hands of children and adults who are not lawfully registered to own them. There are guns shows that are held in almost any U.S. town at any given time, most of the dealers follow protocol but some do not. Pawn shops also buy and sell guns on a daily basis; most of these guys are just out to make a quick sell. They have no idea if the gun that they are buying was just used in a crime or not.

Although background checks keep many people from buying a gun, there are a couple of loop holes in the system. In order to strengthen background checks the government needs to fix the loop holes that exist. About 40% of firearms are purchased through these loop holes without background checks (Martinez). One of the biggest loop holes is the one that exists at gun shows. Background checks are a proven way of helping prevent firearms from getting in to the wrong hands. Then how come at gun shows in some states they do not require a background check to purchase a weapon at a gun show? In most states at a gun show all that is required of the consumer to purchase the weapon is their

Loopholes in the gun control laws are allowing prohibited people to access of firearms easily. As the country with the largest stockpile of privately owned firearms, we aren’t doing much to prevent them from falling on the wrong hands. According to The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act convicted

Nowadays purchasing firearms can be as easy as going to a gun show and buying a gun from there. Background checks are only required when making a purchase in a store. While this happens it makes

A majority of guns are used for recreational use. Sixty-six percent of guns are used for target shooting, and fifty-eight percent are used for hunting (Carroll). It undoubtedly shows that a large population uses guns in an innocent way. My dad and I both own shotguns and enjoy going shooting clay pigeons together every chance we can. This is one of the only times I get to spend time with just him, so it has become very special to me because my dad and I are very close. My dad, being an athlete in his youth and me being one right now, makes for some spirited competition. The politicians that want to take away all guns, would take away this wholesome activity that has been a part of American culture for hundreds of years. The economic benefits for recreational gun use would

Around 10% of guns used in crime were either sold at a gun show or a flea market. Anybody of age can go to a gun show, purchase a gun from an unlicensed distributor and go about their day, no background check, no mental health check. Though, in recent events, Nikolas Cruz purchased his gun at the age of eighteen from someone who had their license to sell. He passed his background check easily because he had no criminal background but no one knew he was depressed, had ADHD, and autism, no one knew until after a horrendous incident that cost people their lives. I read in a Gun Control FAQ, the Gun Control Act of 1968 says anyone in the business of selling guns must be licensed by the government, but it doesn’t say anything about unlicensed men and women selling their guns from their personal collection is not “engaged in the business”, this means that they don’t have to perform background checks, anyone will do anything for some extra money. A simple loophole like this one can land a gun into the hands of a

The legislative process is a very long and complex procedure that often results in most proposed bills failing to become laws. Due to this, most domestic policy plans often go unfulfilled. After the Connecticut elementary school shooting that resulted in 20 students dead and 6 adults, many Americans felt that there should be restrictions on the purchasing of guns. When President Barak Obama proposed a mandatory background check for gun buyers, there was an 80 percent support from American citizens. However, the proposed bill began to die out despite the vast support in favor of the bill. This is due to the fact that the legislative process limits the power of the President in reference to law making.

Another clear indication that the gun show loophole is a big problem in this country is the conviction of Ali Boumelhem for trying to smuggle guns obtained at gun shows in the United States abroad to be used for terrorist activities. Conservatives claim that this conviction illustrates that the current system works. However, these same people often forget to mention the fact that Boumelhem was a previously convicted felon and therefore should not have been allowed to purchase a firearm. In his article “Keeping Guns Away from Terrorists,” Eric Holder Jr. includes this fact and silences any argument that the loophole does not exist when he says:

First to be discussed on President Obama’s gun control plan is to require anyone wanting to purchase a gun to comply with a National Background Check System created by Brady Act. Why? You may want to ask must we require a background check for all gun sales. The answer is while most people wanting to purchase a gun will be responsible with it while they enjoy hunting or shooting as a sport and while others want a gun for personal protection, however, there are people in this country that don’t need a gun or is prohibited from having a gun either because they have a mental illness that makes having a gun unsafe or they have been convicted of a felony or domestic violence either way want people in control of a gun to use it responsibly and not used it for

buy a gun, they do. “The amendment to the 1968 Gun Control Act — known as the Brady

The first of these new proposals is the requirement of universal background checks for anyone who wants to purchase a firearm. This will hopefully close some loopholes in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and prevent criminals and people with a history of mental illness from obtaining firearms (Remarks). As the background check system stands now, people who buy guns from gun shows and other unlicensed sellers do not have to complete a background check (Stopping). For the Columbine massacre on April 20th, 1999, the killers purchased their guns at a gun show from an unlicensed seller, so no background check was performed. On April 16th, 2007 was the shooting at Virginia Tech and this shooter obtained a gun from a licensed gun dealer which he should have been prohibited from buying. He was able to purchase this weapon because his records were never reported to the FBI’s gun background check system. Again in Tucson on January 8th, 2001, a killer acted with guns he should have been prohibited from buying because his records also were not in the database. These considerable loopholes in our current