The
goal of closing the gun show loophole is to ensure that felons, domestic
abusers, and other prohibited persons cannot purchase firearms from
private individuals at gun shows without background checks. Unfortunately,
the McCain-Lieberman bill draws on gun lobby proposals from 1999 that
actually undermine and weaken the federal Brady law. [An
analysis of the bill is available on the VPC's web site located at www.vpc.org.]
The
McCain-Lieberman bill would create a weaker background check at gun
shows for unlicensed sellers, while at the same time giving priority
to checks at gun shows. In addition, the bill creates a new class of
gun seller, "special firearm event licensees," based on a concept first
promoted by NRA Board Member and U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID). This
idea was soundly and uniformly rejected by gun control organizations
and Congressional gun control leaders in 1999. In addition, the bill
could weaken state laws that currently rely on the federal background
check provision for all gun show sales, such as New York.
In
promoting the bill, Americans for Gun Safety, the organization founded
by Internet billionaire Andrew McKelvey and the motivator behind the
McCain-Lieberman bill, promised a "third way" on gun control, a so-called
centrist approach that would draw supporters of gun control and the
National Rifle Association alike. But so far the list of supporters
does not include pro-gun legislators. As a result, instead of negotiating
with the pro-gun lobby, gun control advocates are compromising with
themselves, settling for less while the NRA stands firm. The "third
way" is both bad policy and bad politics.
Experience
shows that the when it comes to crafting gun control laws, simpler is
better. This leaves less room for pro-gun advocates to exploit loopholes
and undermine existing law. And it should never be forgotten that U.S.
Attorney General and NRA Member John Ashcroft would have the final say
in deciding how McCain-Lieberman would operate in the real world. Recognizing
this, the Violence Policy Center supports legislation, S. 767, introduced
by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI). S. 767 would extend the current instant
check law to all sales at gun shows and actually close the gun
show loophole.
