The FALSE Gun Show Loophole

Some of the Anti-Gun people, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, claim that there is a Gun Show loophole which needs to be closed. Especially funny is that Arnold made this claim in California in the recent election. It shows that Politicians are either stupid or lie (or both).

There is NO Gun Show loophole ANYWHERE. Statements about this is propaganda, pure and simple. In California this is especially foolish because EVERY firearm sale (excluding the sale of a long gun which is a Curio or Relic) MUST go through a FFL (Federal Firearms Licensee). There are NO private party sales possible without a firearms dealer being involved. In other states it is legal for a person to sell their personal firearm to another person without having to go through a firearms dealer, which means no additional fees or background checks (the fees in CA can be a sizable percentage of the value of the firearm, around $35 with the DROS and firearms dealer fees). It has nothing to do with a Gun Show though, so why do they claim it does? A firearms dealer who sells a gun at a Gun Show still must do all the paperwork and the background check, so there is no loophole there. What is the claimed loophole then? Well, you see a person, who is not a dealer, can also go to a Gun Show and sell their firearm to another person, in those states where this type of transaction is legal, as mentioned above, and sell their firearm to someone else, but this has nothing to do with the Gun Show as they could do it anywhere. So why the claim? Well, it sounds good and is an excuse to pass more gun laws in an attempt to take away rights. Remember, the 2^nd Amendment does not give us any rights, it is just supposed to prevent the government from infringing our natural rights.

See also: Gun Games: Truth is a casualty of the anti-gun cause by Dave Kopel. This is better stated than I ever could.

In addition: Gun Show Talking Points by John Lott, Jr. and David Kopel.