2a4all
Regular Member
imported post
Guns, gore and government
April 21, 2009
Gun issues are a picture window into the workings of government, one of the issues where you can see how special interests bend lawmakers to their will. One thing you'll see, in Virginia, is the public's elected representatives refusing, over and over, to adopt policies that the public wants. You'll hear loud voices drowning out more sensible and numerous voices.
Take the gun-show loophole. Gun rights advocates scoff at the term, but when a particular way of doing business has a special exclusion carved out from the law that applies to other businesses, it's a loophole. In the gun-show case, the loophole says that while registered dealers have to run background checks on buyers of guns, "occasional sellers" don't have to — even if their idea of "occasional" involves a brisk trade.
Gun rights advocates like to paint those nondealer sellers as your Uncle Frank trying to find someone who will cherish his antique rifle. They don't like to talk about the unscrupulous people ready to sell guns to anyone. So if you were a felon, mentally ill or have a restraining order against you — that is, if you fell into any of the categories of people who are barred from buying guns legally — where would you take your cash?
The public knows a loophole when it sees one, the public can figure out the dangers the loophole poses, and the public supports plugging it. The latest evidence came in a Rasmussen poll last week, in which 76 percent of those interviewed said Virginia should require all sellers at gun shows to do background checks.
Sharing that sentiment are officials from states whose citizens are victims of Virginia's free-for-all bazaar (we're a well-documented source of guns used in crimes in other states). Virginians love to put down New York City, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg is on their side when it comes to gun shows.
Bloomberg's behind an ad campaign, launched last week to coincide with the anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech, featuring the brother of a murdered student. While the Tech shooter didn't get his guns from a show, this family and others include the gun-show loophole in their campaign against gun violence. Bloomberg pitches to state lawmakers and takes aim at Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, who opposes closing the loophole. The mayor is paying most of the ad's costs himself and even traveled to Virginia for its launch.
This isn't Bloomberg's first venture into gun politics in Virginia. Earlier, he provoked then-Attorney General McDonnell when New York launched an undercover operation that resulted in federal charges against gun dealers in several states, including Virginia, who were sources of guns used in crimes in New York. One channel for the flow of guns to thugs is dealers who enable "straw man" sales, in which one individual puts his clean name on the application (and background check) while someone else, who can't buy legally, is actually the buyer.
Virginians got all up in arms about New York officials interfering in our business. And they were right about the undercover operation, which New York wrongly kept undercover from Virginia law enforcement. Better that Virginia authorities had been involved, because when guns used in crimes can be traced to a dealer in our state, there's a problem.
The General Assembly refused again this year to address the gun-show loophole. Once more, the voices of the few, the loud and the adamant have drowned out the legitimate wishes of the many.
Expect to hear more from Michael Bloomberg as our gubernatorial race heats up. Only this time, as this ad shows, it won't be an undercover operation.
Guns, gore and government
April 21, 2009
Gun issues are a picture window into the workings of government, one of the issues where you can see how special interests bend lawmakers to their will. One thing you'll see, in Virginia, is the public's elected representatives refusing, over and over, to adopt policies that the public wants. You'll hear loud voices drowning out more sensible and numerous voices.
Take the gun-show loophole. Gun rights advocates scoff at the term, but when a particular way of doing business has a special exclusion carved out from the law that applies to other businesses, it's a loophole. In the gun-show case, the loophole says that while registered dealers have to run background checks on buyers of guns, "occasional sellers" don't have to — even if their idea of "occasional" involves a brisk trade.
Gun rights advocates like to paint those nondealer sellers as your Uncle Frank trying to find someone who will cherish his antique rifle. They don't like to talk about the unscrupulous people ready to sell guns to anyone. So if you were a felon, mentally ill or have a restraining order against you — that is, if you fell into any of the categories of people who are barred from buying guns legally — where would you take your cash?
The public knows a loophole when it sees one, the public can figure out the dangers the loophole poses, and the public supports plugging it. The latest evidence came in a Rasmussen poll last week, in which 76 percent of those interviewed said Virginia should require all sellers at gun shows to do background checks.
Sharing that sentiment are officials from states whose citizens are victims of Virginia's free-for-all bazaar (we're a well-documented source of guns used in crimes in other states). Virginians love to put down New York City, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg is on their side when it comes to gun shows.
Bloomberg's behind an ad campaign, launched last week to coincide with the anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech, featuring the brother of a murdered student. While the Tech shooter didn't get his guns from a show, this family and others include the gun-show loophole in their campaign against gun violence. Bloomberg pitches to state lawmakers and takes aim at Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, who opposes closing the loophole. The mayor is paying most of the ad's costs himself and even traveled to Virginia for its launch.
This isn't Bloomberg's first venture into gun politics in Virginia. Earlier, he provoked then-Attorney General McDonnell when New York launched an undercover operation that resulted in federal charges against gun dealers in several states, including Virginia, who were sources of guns used in crimes in New York. One channel for the flow of guns to thugs is dealers who enable "straw man" sales, in which one individual puts his clean name on the application (and background check) while someone else, who can't buy legally, is actually the buyer.
Virginians got all up in arms about New York officials interfering in our business. And they were right about the undercover operation, which New York wrongly kept undercover from Virginia law enforcement. Better that Virginia authorities had been involved, because when guns used in crimes can be traced to a dealer in our state, there's a problem.
The General Assembly refused again this year to address the gun-show loophole. Once more, the voices of the few, the loud and the adamant have drowned out the legitimate wishes of the many.
Expect to hear more from Michael Bloomberg as our gubernatorial race heats up. Only this time, as this ad shows, it won't be an undercover operation.
