"Gun Show Loophole"?

I am absolutely sick and tired of hearing the anti-gun buzz phrase "Gun Show Loophole". Given the amount of time dedicated to discussing this non-issue and the multitude of completely false information being spread to the public, I suspect it will be the front line for the next big battle in gun control.

You are now probably thinking, "Non-issue? False information? That doesn't sound like what I have been hearing."

Of course that's not what you've been hearing. Anti-gunners have taken a page from their "assault weapon" plan and continue to mislead the public as much as possible with some blatant lies thrown in for good measure.

The first thing they tell us is that anybody can buy a firearm at a gun show and criminals walk out armed to the teeth with guns they can't get elsewhere. This is absolutely and blatantly false. The exact same laws and regulations are in place at gun shows that apply everywhere else... including your local Wal-Mart sporting good section. Again, not one thing is different. Dealers must have their customers fill out a 4473 form, perform an NICS background check, ensure the buyer is a non-felon, etc.

With that, straw purchases are still just as illegal. A straw purchase is when someone fills out the form and undergoes the FBI background check for someone else. You're a felon whether you do it at a gun show or your area Dick's Sporting Goods.

It's true... private transactions can take place between individuals, but that is no different at a gun show than anywhere else. It has always been that way and should remain that way. People have a right to sell their personal property. Now, we're not talking about the dealers that set up tables and have fifty guns for sale. We're talking about me having my used rifle slung over a shoulder. This is where the anti-gun zealots come up with the misleading phrase "unlicensed dealer". I compare this to someone wanting to convict you of a felony and put you in jail for being an "unlicensed dealer" when you put a "For Sale" sign on your car. Look around your office or campus today. You're surrounded by unlicensed dealers! *Gasp*!!!

This fact has me really wanting to change "Gun Show Loophole" to the more correct phrase "Yard Sale Loophole". That's really what we are talking about here. Hopefully it puts the ridiculousness in perspective.

So, with all of these inconvenient facts disputing the lies put forth by the other side, the following will not surprise you:

We know that criminals aren't getting firearms at gun shows.

John Lott, noted researcher of firearm and self-defense policy, wrote a letter to The Washington Times describing an irrefutable study that gives us this conclusion. His letter was in response to an article describing a perfect example of how unethical and far-reaching gun grabbers can truly be. This terrible excuse for research cited by state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis concluded that "the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has reported that gun shows are the second-leading source of guns used in crimes..."

Let's see what Mr. Lott says (where the emphasis is mine):

... Unfortunately, the study she cites simply was not designed to reach the conclusion that Mrs. Davis claims, because the ATF report looked at 198 non-randomly chosen investigations. The ATF doesn't make the claim that its investigations are representative of the distribution of sources of illegal guns.
By contrast, the Bureau of Justice Statistics conducted a survey of 18,000 state prison inmates in 1997, the largest survey of inmates ever conducted. Less than 1 percent of inmates (0.7 percent) who had a gun indicated they had obtained it at a gun show. When combined with guns obtained from flea markets, the total rises to 1.7 percent. These are tiny fractions compared to the estimated 40 percent of the criminals' guns that are obtained from friends or family and the 39 percent that are obtained on the street or from illegal sources. The numbers also had changed little from a similar 1991 survey that indicated that 0.6 percent of inmates had gotten their guns from guns shows and 1.3 percent from flea markets...

Don't you wish that you were given the truth about issues and were trusted to judge for yourself?