Columbus
Dispatch...
Bill would require
background check for all sales at gun shows
By Theodore Decker
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Saying that even terrorists know they might not need to pass background
checks to buy firearms at gun shows, a state legislator said yesterday
that she is introducing legislation to require such checks.
“To not close this loophole is knowingly reckless and irresponsible to
Ohioans and our region,” said Rep. Tracy Maxwell Heard, D-Columbus.
“With the challenges we face with gun violence, it is nothing short of
negligent to not correct this situation immediately.”
The proposal was heralded by Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City
Councilwoman Michelle M. Mills, who joined Heard in a news conference
held across W. Broad Street from Westland Mall, where a gun show is
scheduled for this weekend.
The show’s promoter branded the legislation a folly, and the Buckeye
Firearms Association called it a grab at the rights of law-abiding gun
owners.
Coleman hinged his statements on a video released this month on the
Internet in which an al-Qaida spokesman noted the ease with which guns
can be bought in the United States.
“America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms,” said
Adam Yahiye Gadahn, a 32-year-old American. “You can go down to a gun
show at the local convention center and come away with a fully
automatic assault rifle, without a background check, and most likely
without having to show an identification card. So, what are you waiting
for?”
Ken Hanson, legislative chair of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said
linking gun shows to terrorism was blatant fear-mongering. “These guys
are getting explosives in their underwear on planes. They don’t need to
go to Westland to get a gun.”
He also noted that ownership of automatic weapons is tightly controlled
by the federal government. “It is 100 percent demonstratively false
that you can go to a gun show and come home with a machine gun,” he
said.
Federally licensed gun dealers are required to run background checks on
buyers no matter where the sale occurs. Private individuals in Ohio,
whether they are selling a personal firearm at a gun show, in the
classifieds or out of their basement, do not have to conduct such
checks.
Annette Elliott and her husband, Steven, run gun shows in several
states, including those at Westland. A savvy criminal won’t go near
one, she said. “He knows the cops are there, and he knows the ATF is
there,” she said. “Gangs do not congregate in gun shows.”
Read it the Columbus Dispatch
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