You now have a “Florida Loophole” too, though they haven’t called it that yet. Maybe Pennsylvanians are more apt to think Florida is a sketchy place than Texans are, or something. Either way, expect anti-gun forces in Texas to try to tack this on to the repeal of the ban on college campuses. Hopefully they’ll have about as much luck with that there as they did here.
Year: 2011
Misunderstanding Federal Law (Again)
Of course, given who Colin Goddard is working for these days, that this is a misunderstanding is probably offering a lot more credit that is deserved. The reality is, they know exactly what they are doing:
The gun lobby claims there is no “gun show loopholeâ€. The law governing the sale of guns by licensed dealers and private sellers was crafted so that dealers are required to perform background checks and private sellers are not. Some gun rights advocates argue that if something is intentional, it can’t be called a loophole.
But the exemption for private sellers was intended to cover occasional sales from personal gun collections, a father selling a gun to his son-in-law, for example, not regular sales that supplement income. Virginia law uses the language, “occasional sales of curios and relics.†Many of the private sellers sold new, or very recently manufactured, guns — hardly curios or relics.
No, what we argue is that if something is legal, and you don’t like it, that doesn’t automatically make it a “loophole.” If someone is selling a guns to supplement their income, and they don’t hold an FFL, that person is already breaking federal law. Many of the people appearing in various videos selling guns at tables at gun shows would be relatively easy to prosecute, except that ATF has a nasty habit of botching this kind of operation, and US Attorney’s offices can’t be expected to exercise reasonable discretion about whether to prosecute a collector, who is legitimately liquidating a collection, or going after someone who really is making a living at selling guns without an FFL.
It’s worth noting that in Pennsylvania, there hasn’t been any private transfers for handguns since the 1930s, and yet we still have papers editorializing for more control because “gun crime” is too high, and criminals are straw purchasing and stealing their guns. So now, obviously, we need to ration purchases, and institute a lost and stolen reporting mandate that, to date, not a single person has been prosecuted under.
This nonsense might make you guys feel better, but it doesn’t work, and the world was a safer place when you could go to any local hardware store and buy a pistol or a stick of dynamite, cash and carry, no paperwork or background check.
Mention in Shotgun News
Clayton Cramer has updated his list of publications, and I noticed on there was an article from Shotgun News that appeared in this months issue, on the Death of the Thousand Cuts the gun control movement is dying from. We got a mention:
Another interesting aspect of this death by a thousand cuts is that the gun control movement seems to have lost heart. Â The news media are still reprinting gun control group press releases without too many questions, but the days when the gun control movement enjoyed a large body of financial backers seem to be past. Â Snowflakes in Hell is a gun rights blog that has spent a bit of time over the last few years keeping track of the falling level of support that gun control organizations enjoy.7
So now I’m cited on one of Clayton’s publications. Given that Clayton has been cited by the Supreme Court, I figure that this is probably the closest I’ll come. But we will still hold out hope!
How About That?
Homicides have fallen to an all time low in Washington D.C. While it seems highly unlikely this is a result of the very small number of DC residents that have chosen to exercise their newly enforced Second Amendment rights, and likely has more to do with continued gentrification, it at least shows the blood isn’t running in the streets. D.C.’s gun control laws were and continue to be an abject failure.
Back to the Grind
Holiday time is over, so back to the normal work schedule. I had a list of things to post about today, but I forgot to save it to MobileMe so it shows up on my other machine. I will remedy this situation as soon as I can. I have a system for everything, but it’s amazing how much getting out of your routine even for a week and a half can screw things up.