Gun laws for low-information voters
The Washington Post sounds an alarm from The Third Way, a leftist think tank, that the internet is facilitating gun sales and that it’s the most used medium for people who want to avoid background checks.
At any given time, more than 15,000 guns were for sale in those states, according to the study, and more than 5,000 of them were semi-automatic weapons. Nearly 2,000 ads were from prospective buyers asking to buy specifically from private sellers, where no background checks are required.
“At this point, this is the biggest loophole in the background check system,” said Lanae Erickson Hatalsky, director of social policy and politics at Third Way.
Background checks — designed to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons, domestic violence perpetrators or the severely mentally ill — are mandatory for gun sales at retail stores, but not at gun shows or for private sales, such as between neighbors and family members.
What this breathless reporting doesn’t mention is that these guns are being bought and sold within the same State. It’s like buying from your neighbor doesn’t require background checks because it’s private sale within the frontiers of a single state.
Federal laws already mandate that interstate sales be between Federal Firearms licensed dealers. If I was selling a gun across state lines to Maryland, ten miles from my house, I’d have to take a firearm to a local dealer and pay him to ship it to a dealer near the buyer, where the buyer would have to go through background checks. So, it’s already illegal to sell a gun that will end up across state lines without a background check.
But, by all means let’s keep the public ignorant about the laws that are already in place so we can pass even more laws. By the way, I’ve bought two guns on the internet and had to go through background checks. I’ve also bought two guns at gun shows in recent years and went through background checks.
Category: Gun Grabbing Fascists
Typical WaPo breathless boilerplate anti-gun bile…
Jonn, you’re stating facts. Facts, like logic and common sense, mean NOTHING to bleeding-heart liberals!!
The folks who sell guns on the one site I frequent require either a purchase permit or a CPL. The background check has already been done.
You expected someone on that side of the brick wall to actually use common sense and look up facts?
That’s asking too much of them. They don’t have the common sense gene and they don’t know how to check facts.
And despite the series of laws either passed or proposed in numerous states and at the federal level, gun owners are the silly ones because we’re “buying into the fear” that the left is coming to take our guns, which has in turn led to “record profits” for gun makers.
To which I reply, “Not so silly when it’s been their stated intention all along, now is it?”
@2 You said it. Liberals hear anything except logic in an issue. They are concerned about “semi-automatic weapons”. Does that include my Glock? If so, I can do as well with my S&W Model 66 4″ barrel with JHP 357 rounds.
The only answer is truth! If you’re a gun owner, take a non-gun owner to the range with you the next time you go. Show them responsible gun ownership, teach them the four fundamentals. Show them the fun and satisfaction that the shooting sports give.
I did read that WaPo article and must say that I found it to be the same standard drivel that I’ve come to expect from WaPo, totally “fact free”!
I checked out the ‘Third Way’ website. They call themselves moderates yet as is typical, all their views, especially on guns, are to the left. Also as is typical their information is derived from leftist anti-gun groups like MAIG.
Tried, really, I did, to read it but the level of logic dysfunction was intolerable. Since I already know how they feel about the topic, no need to waste time on their feeble attempt to explain their fears with contrived wishful thinking.
Just a little notice, because there’s sales going on, and I love to go there:
Bass Pro Shops is having their Fall Hunting Classic August 2 to 18, at all 54 stores.
They have all those hunting rifles and shotguns on sale, and Hornady, Remington, Federal Premium and Winchester ammo on sale, too, so you guys should all have a chance to stock up. They also have several different crossbows and a bunch of compound bows, plus deer targets for practice and lots of broadhead arrows, all on sale, plus hunting stands, hunting camo, and sniper seats. I love that store.
Just thought you all would like to know.
I read the comments at the WaPo article and had to leave.
It’s unbearable to read the logic there.
Is it too much to hope that Jeff Bezos might bring some sanity and reasonableness to the WaPo? Unfortunately, it probably is a hope too far based on the huge amounts that Amazon employees donated to the Obungler’s election campaign.
You would think that a successful businessman would recognize that liberal rags like the NYT and the WaPo have been deeply in the red for years. Perhaps a more balance approach where they actually reported the news, and kept the editorializing on the Editorial Page might improve the bottom line.