The Bias Against Guns by John R. Lott Jr

Author:John R. Lott Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Published: 2014-05-08T18:40:59+00:00

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C H A P T E R 8

DO GUN SHOWS AND ASSAULT

WEAPONS INCREASE CRIME?

[Senator Joseph] Lieberman’s beef with the gun lobby is that

the distinct lack of background checks at gun shows provides

terrorists (and anyone else for that matter) with a perfectly

legal means for purchasing weapons, including assault rifles

and hand grenades.

Peter Wendel, “After 9/11: Got Big Chutzpah?”

Campaigns & Elections , February 2002

. . . [S]tates that do not require criminal background checks at gun shows are flooding the nation with crime guns.

Jim Kessler, Policy and Research Director

at Americans for Gun Safety 1

Why would a guy who doesn’t want to be identified as a felon

or a potential criminal show up at a gun show and buy a

weapon in public when he could go buy it in—in some seedy

hotel somewhere out of a suitcase? Why would he do that?

Chris Matthews, CNBC’s Hardball , June 19, 2001 2

I. INTRODUCTION

Labels are important. Labeling something a “loophole” in a gun law almost automatically generates a desire to “close” it, whatever it is.

“Assault weapons” conjure up images of machine guns. As the Wendel 191

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The Bias Against Guns

quote indicates, to many people these issues are tied together. While many are concerned about gun shows or assault weapons and crime, since September 11 these fears have been further magnified as concerns rise that terrorists are acquiring weapons to use against Americans.

Gun shows are frequently described as places where grenades and other bombs are sold and as an inappropriate “carnival atmosphere” associated with weapons.3 Both their defenders and detractors view gun shows as opportunities for the pro-gun culture to solidify its base, in that gun shows provide a meeting place for people with similar interests and a way for them to learn about guns.

Polls suggest strong support both for closing the gun show “loophole” (that is, mandating background checks on the private transfer of guns at gun shows) and the assault weapons ban (a ban on certain semi-automatic weapons based either upon cosmetic features or

merely their names). In early 2001, Opinion Research Corporation International found 82 percent of people support closing the loophole.4

An NBC News poll indicated that over 70 percent of people wanted the assault weapons ban to remain in place.5 In 2000, gun show regulation initiatives passed comfortably in Colorado and Oregon.

As discussed in Chapter 4, the notion of a gun show “loophole” is questionable simply because there are no different rules for buying a gun in a gun show than anywhere else.6 Gun control groups, such as Americans for Gun Safety, identify eighteen states that have closed the

“loophole,” but interestingly, prior to 2000, only three of these had laws that even mentioned gun shows. What usually constitutes closing the loophole are laws that require background checks for private transfers of handguns. Since 1994, federal law has required background checks for all handguns purchased through dealers. The checks were extended to long guns in 1998. But regulating transfers by private individuals—such as those at gun shows—has been left to the states.

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