Just two weeks after the Tucson shootings that killed six and injured 13, an undercover investigator sent by New York City was able to buy guns from private sellers at an Arizona gun show — even after telling them that he “probably couldn’t pass” a background check.
Private sellers at gun shows are not required to run background checks using the FBI database. But under federal law, if a prospective seller “knows” or “has reason to believe” the buyer is in a prohibited category— such as convicted felons and drug abusers— it is illegal to go through with the transaction.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an ardent gun-control advocate who has pushed to crack down on illegal gun sales nationwide, expressed disbelief at how easy it was for his undercover investigator to buy two 9 millimeter semiautomatic pistols. They were purchased at the Crossroads of the West show in Phoenix on Jan. 23.
“You would hope that with the memory of the Tucson shootings still so painfully fresh, anyone working at a gun show — especially in the state of Arizona — would think twice about selling a firearm to anyone who even hinted or joked about not being able to pass a background check,” Bloomberg said at a Monday news conference.
Jared Loughner, the suspect in the Jan. 8 rampage in Tucson, allegedly used a Glock 9 millimeter pistol purchased from a licensed gun dealer. At gun shows, however, “occasional” sellers who are not engaged in interstate commerce in firearms are permitted to market their wares, too, without meeting federal licensing requirements or conducting background checks.
Undercover video shot at the Crossroads of the West event shows an investigator specifically asking the seller, “So no background check?”
“No,” the seller responds.
“That’s good because I probably couldn’t pass one, you know what I mean?” the investigator says. He then pays $500 in cash for a 9mm.
Another investigator at the show bought a Glock 9 millimeter gun without a background check, providing only an Arizona drivers license to the seller. Bloomberg noted that the sale took as much time as “it would take to buy a hamburger and fries at McDonald’s.”
Crossroads of the West holds dozens of gun shows annually in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. “When we find someone who isn’t complying with the law, we ask them to leave or don’t allow them back,” the president of the gun show told The New York Times.
In 2009, New York City investigators documented problems at seven gun shows in three states. In several instances, private dealers sold guns to buyers who said they could not pass a background check.
Funny, your article fails to mention that both the “undercover” buyer and the seller followed state and federal law exactly. There was no “grey area,” and no crime committed by either party. A private citizen may sell a firearm to another private citizen without doing a background check. This has NOTHING to do with gun shows, and is a non-issue. This transaction could have happened legally anywhere in the state, not just at a gun show. This is just anti-gun banter. You’re trying to make a story where one does not exist.