PokitiFact has changed its rating of this claim from "Mostly True" to "Half True."
Yet, in their description it still seems mostly true to me. Others agree.
"It’s a fairly stable market. That is to say, gun stores have had their
part, police supply stores have had their part, and then there are the
gun shows and private dealings about which we know very little," said
Robert McCrie, of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "To be sure,
there has been this bump up in gun purchases, which we know from
reports from gun stores and the companies like Smith & Wesson.
There’s the knowledge that the market has been more vigorous and
probably that higher vigor has been reflected in gun shows and private
sales in tandem."
His take: "The 40 percent seems about right."
and
Jay Corzine has attended and studies gun shows in Florida. The
University of Central Florida professor says that based on his
observation, no more than 15 to 20 percent of sales at gun shows happen
without a background check. But when you add in other private sales --
neighbors selling to neighbors, ads in the paper, etc. -- the 40 percent
figure is "probably accurate" and "a very good figure to use."
It seems to me that PolitiFact is demanding proof where none exists and based on that lack of proof is downgrading the claim.
One thing is clear in all the quotes in the article and all the references to the 40%, and that's the fact that everybody seems to understand that the 40% refers to ALL private sales, not those limited to gun shows. Only the agenda-driven liars among the gun-rights extremists have a problem with this.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.