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By Philip Van Cleave
Let's be clear about gun shows: There is nothing that can be done at a gun show that cannot be done legally outside of a gun show.
The terms "gun show loophole" and "unlicensed gun dealer" are fabricated to mislead the public into thinking that gun shows permit gun sales that would be forbidden anywhere else. The intent of this scheme is to villainize gun shows, making the public more receptive to additional restrictions.
This is just the first step in a "private gun-sale registration" scheme.
Gun banners know they must take small steps, placing more and more hurdles to gun ownership so that fewer law abiding citizens will go to the trouble of purchasing a firearm.
None of the hurdles would affect criminals. According to a 2001 U.S. Department of Justice report, only 0.7% of criminals got their guns from shows.
A gun purchased from a dealer at a gun show requires the same background check as a gun purchased at the dealer's store. No loophole.
In most states, a gun purchased from a person's private collection requires no background check, whether purchased at a gun show or at someone's home. Again, no loophole.
A gun is like any other private property: It's yours to sell whenever you wish.
Of course, gun banners would call you an "unlicensed gun dealer."
Hogwash. Does selling your personal car make you an "unlicensed car dealer?"
Gun banners want to force dealers to do background checks on private sales. That would put a heavy burden on dealers who must keep the paperwork for decades and delay their own sales while running those checks. That would drive up the cost of buying a gun, creating another hurdle for the prospective law abiding purchaser.
Of course, closing the imaginary "gun show loophole" is only the first step. Gun banners will then say that since private sales are not allowed at gun shows, the "home gun-sale loophole" must be closed.
Ultimately, complete gun registration is the goal. Where there is registration, there is confiscation, as gun owners in California, Illinois, New York and Washington, D.C., learned when authorities confiscated guns that were banned after the owner had bought and registered them.
Philip Van Cleave is president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (
www.vcdl.org), a gun rights group.