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 loophole”. 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.