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Originally Posted by C0untZer0
^ According to rep Hank Johnson, we have a loophole in "gunshow law" big enough to drive a space shuttle though.
If you listened to the committee hearing today on Federal Gun Smuggling Sting operation, Hank Johnson brought this up.
Given that we have a legislative body that passed H.R. 822, I don't think the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act is going to pass, but I do think Hank Johnson was referencing this legislation when he made his comments regarding what he called "The Gunshow Loophole."
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The "GSL" is an old standby of the anti-gun crowd. That crowd makes all sorts of claims about "X% of crime guns" being bought and sold at gun shows, and pretends that sales that take place at gun shows, for some inexplicable reason, don't follow the same laws that are in force everywhere else.
The reality, though, is that the GSL just doesn't exist. There's nothing in federal law that says gun shows are special, and nothing in state law, either, at least not in my state. If you buy a new gun from an FFL, whether at a gun show or their brick-and-mortar store, you have to fill out a 4473 and go through the NICS check. If there are additional state law requirements, you must abide by them. If you buy used from a private party, you'll have to comply with state law. GS sales are no different, legally, than any other sale.
I've also seen statistics somewhere (and I'll have to dig up a link or a document) that only a very small percentage of guns used in crimes are actually purchased at gun shows.