Two years after a local gun show was a target of a New York City investigation highlighting a loophole in federal firearms laws, local authorities arrested four men Saturday on a variety of weapons violations.You see how it works? You break no laws of you sell guns to people who verbally say they are not disqualified. It's that simple. And you can claim to be responsible and law-abiding, and you'd be right.
The operation targeted “private” or “occasional” sellers and buyers at Bill Goodman’s Gun & Knife Show at the Hara Arena on Saturday. Under federal laws, licensed firearms dealers must conduct background checks on those purchasing weapons. Private sellers, however, are not covered by the requirement.
That's why the law has to change and must be aimed at the law-abiding not the criminals. In this case I would call the private gun sellers "hidden criminals," whose numbers are legion among the law-abiding citizens who own guns. Gun owners who are truly responsible should be the first ones crying for tighter restrictions on this obvious "loophole" in the law. We need to make the "hidden criminals" choose sides.
What's your opinion? Should private gun sales be regulated much like those done by FFL dealers? In order to be effective, wouldn't there need to be licensing of gun owners and registration of guns? Wouldn't initiatives like those put a crimp in the gun flow into the criminal world?
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