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The Gun Show Loophole
Seven states, including Connecticut, require
background checks no matter where a gun is purchased.
But in most states, anyone can walk into a gun show
and buy guns - like AK-47s - from unlicensed sellers
without a Brady criminal background check.
Representatives Mike Castle (R-DE) and
Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) have introduced a bill, H.R.
2324, to close this gun show loophole.
It is estimated that over forty percent
of gun acquisitions occur in the secondary market. That
means that they happen without a Brady background check
at a federally licensed dealer. Gun shows provide the
venue, advertising, and audience for many unregulated
gun sellers. Therefore, closing the loophole that allows
them to sell guns without Brady background checks makes
sense for the safety of our families and communities.
We make it too easy for dangerous people to obtain dangerous
weapons. Convicted felons, domestic violence abusers,
and those who are dangerously mentally ill can walk
into gun shows and buy firearms from unlicensed sellers,
no questions asked, with often deadly consequences.
Here are some examples:
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Littleton, Colorado: Eric
Harris and Dylan Klebold used two shotguns, an assault
rifle and a TEC-9 assault pistol to shoot 26 students
at Columbine High School, killing 13. All four guns
came from gun show sales.
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Oklahoma City, Okalahoma:
Timothy McVeigh, and his sidekicks Michael Fortier
and Terry Nichols, admitted to stealing $60,000
worth of shotguns, rifles and handguns from an Arkansas
gun collector's ranch. Fortier admitted that he
sold many of the stolen weapons at gun shows.
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Waco, Texas: Branch Davidian
cult leader David Koresh used Texas gun shows to
purchase many firearms. According to an ATF arrest
warrant, Koresh and his cult made "regular purchases
of weapons and ammunition [from] flea markets and
gun shows."
- And terrorists are also buying
at gun shows. Foreign terrorists also find gun shows
in the United States to be inviting marketplaces to
supply themselves with guns:
67 percent of gun owners are in favor of a comprehensive
law to require a background check for every sale,
regardless of location. Eighty-four percent of people
who live in a house with a gun (but are not the owner
of the gun) favor a background check for every sale,
and 80 percent of non-gun owners support this policy.
105 members of Congress have cosponsored
HR 2324. Four of the five members of our Connecticut
Congressional delegation: Rep. John Larson, Rep. Rosa
DeLauro, Rep. Chris Murphy, and Rep. Jim Himes have
cosponsored the legislation. Only Rep. Joe Courtney
from our delegationhas refused to sign on as a cosponsor.
Know that the gun lobby will be fighting
us every step of the way with its mantra "any gun, anywhere,
for anybody." But it is time we must break the hold
they have on legislators who are willing to block any
common sense gun legislation.
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