John McCain on the (so called) "Gun Show Loophole"

Straight from the horses mouth. This is from a few years ago, but is still relevant, seeing as he is now the Republican Presidential Candidate. I see little difference between Obama, Clinton & McCain.

The latest statistics place criminal purchase of guns at gun shows at around .07%. [sarcasm mode on]Wow, that's a real problem![sarcasm mode off]

In addition it's not even a loophole. Here is the dictionary definition of what a loophole is:

loop·hole /ˈlupˌhoʊl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[loop-hohl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, -holed, -hol·ing. –noun

1.	a small or narrow opening, as in a wall, for looking through, for admitting light and air, or, particularly in a fortification, for the discharge of missiles against an enemy outside.

2.	an opening or aperture.

3.	a means of escape or evasion; a means or opportunity of evading a rule, law, etc.: There are a number of loopholes in the tax laws whereby corporations can save money.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to furnish with loopholes.

So a loophole is a means of evading the law. In most states there is no law that prevents a citizen from selling one of their guns to another citizen.

So what are the anti's calling a loophole? What it is, is the ability of one private citizen to sell their own personal property to another private citizen without getting the government involved. It can happen anywhere, not just gun shows. Are they going to go after the "newspaper loophole" next? How about the "driveway" or "garage loophole"?

The whole thing is silly. The law will be about as effective as the Brady background checks have been. That is to say, an utter and abysmal failure. To any thinking person, the fallacy is clear. Paul Helmke can talk out of his ass all he wants, but it doesn't change the facts.

I went up to Olympia last year as part of our successful effort to stop the same type of bill in WA that had been passed in OR, with John McCains help, so obviously I feel strongly about this.

"I'm John McCain with some straight talk. Convicted felons have been able to buy and sell thousands of guns at gun shows because of a loophole in the law. Many were later used in crimes. That's wrong.

Here in Colorado, Amendment 22 will close this dangerous loophole by requiring criminal background checks by unlicensed dealers at gun shows.

I believe law-abiding citizens have the right to own guns. But with rights come responsibilities. Close the loophole. Vote Yes on Amendment 22."

—Senator John McCain

...and...

'"John McCain Urges Voters to Close the "Gun Show Loophole"

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) is featured in two television spots in support of Colorado and Oregon ballot initiatives to close the "Gun Show Loophole."

The thirty-second ads, appearing in both states, are the first spots in a $1 million campaign sponsored by Americans for Gun Safety (AGS), a new non-partisan group that is supporting the two citizen-led referendums.

Currently, Colorado and Oregon laws allow unlicensed dealers to sell firearms at gun shows without performing the criminal background checks that are required for all sales by federally licensed dealers.

The ballot initiatives (Amendment 22 in Colorado and Measure 5 in Oregon) would mandate the same criminal background checks by unlicensed dealers at gun shows. Guns used in the Columbine shooting and the Granada Hills shooting were purchased from unlicensed dealers at gun shows—without background checks.

"Despite the tragic lessons we have learned, it is still far too easy for a convicted felon to buy firearms at a gun show. That is wrong," said Senator McCain in a recent press release. "This is not about what's conservative and what's liberal, what's Republican and what's Democrat. It's about what's right and what's wrong. And quite simply, closing this loophole is the right thing to do."

"I believe law-abiding citizens have the right to own guns, and I have steadfastly fought for those rights for many years. But with rights come responsibilities. I strongly support the Colorado and Oregon ballot initiatives that help close this dangerous loophole," said the Senator.

"These ballot initiatives have made Colorado and Oregon 'ground zero' for the gun safety debate," said AGS President Jonathan Cowan. "Americans for Gun Safety is pleased to join with a true American hero, Senator McCain, and the people of Colorado and Oregon in supporting these common-sense solutions that will help keep guns out of the hands of kids and criminals."'

John McCain can bite me. I will never vote for him.

source material

Here We Go Again

Lautenberg off his meds again introduces gun show bill

WASHINGTON - People wouldn’t be able to buy firearms at gun shows unless they first undergo background checks under legislation Sen. Frank Lautenberg introduced today.

The New Jersey Democrat introduced a similar bill in 1999. The Senate approved it by one vote. But the measure subsequently died.

The current bill to close the “gun show loophole” is co-sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and eight other Democratic senators, including former presidential candidate John Kerry of Massachusetts, have also signed on.

The bill was discussed at a Capitol Hill news conference attended by law enforcement officials, survivors of Virginia Tech shooting victims, and advocates such as Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

“It defies common sense that a loophole in federal law lets unlicensed dealers sell firearms at gun shows without running a background check on the buyer. Our legislation would require background checks for every gun purchased at every gun show across America,” Lautenberg said in a statement.

A 1993 federal law requires people seeking to buy firearms at gun shops and other licensed businesses such as pawnshops to undergo background checks. But a loophole allows them to buy guns from unlicensed dealers at gun shows, Lautenberg’s office said.

Supporters say that loophole allows convicted felons, fugitives, domestic abusers, and others who would fail the background checks to still purchase firearms.

A little of this, and a little bit of that...

I'm feeling a lot better than I was a couple of weeks ago, although I'm still not as strong as I was. How exactly do I feel you ask? Here, I'll let Ozzy Osbourne tell you.

"Back on earth (you feel me)
Back on earth (reveal me)
Back on earth (still breathing)
Back on earth (reliving)"

I was well enough to go to the range today and took my SKS along with me. I put something in the neighborhood of 80-100 rounds downrange. It felt good to get back out on the range, even if it was finger numbingly cold. The first thing I did is remove the bolt and rough bore site the red dot scope at 25 yards, and once I was hitting well I moved it out to 50, and then 100 yards.

Okay, firstly, the red dot scope has a 4 MOA dot and no magnification (nothing wrong with that), which means that at 100 yards the dot covers a 4" circle. By the time I left I was placing the vast majority of the rounds (mil-surp) within that circle at 100 yards. I'll post a picture later when my camera battery recharges. Secondly, the SKS was never intended to be a sub-MOA rifle. It was made specifically to be just good enough to hit a man sized target in battle and that's it. Yes, I'll say it. The SKS was designed to kill people. That is it's function and there's nothing wrong with that. And at risk of people misunderstanding me, that's why I have it.

May I remind everyone of the Korean shop owners (look at the bottom of the Service & the Second Day sections respectively) who defended their homes and business's during the LA riots with the very same rifle and kept the murderous hordes at bay? And do I even have to bring up Katrina? After today's range session I know I can hit a man sized object 100 yards away from me with this rifle and there's comfort in that. There's nothing like fellow rioters falling all around you screaming to make you change your course of action. If they get closer there's always the 12 gauge loaded with 00 Buckshot, the 9mm and/or the .357 Magnum.

Don't tell me I'm paranoid. In light of recent events, a person would have to be an idiot to go unarmed anywhere in public. Yes, one armed citizen is all it takes to stop a psychotic bent on mass murder. The same people who think it's crazy to carry a weapon think it's perfectly reasonable to have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in their houses. "What, are you expecting trouble?" they'll say, the obvious comeback being, "What, are you expecting a fire?"

Remember the Boy Scout Motto: "Be prepared."

Something that's eating at me a bit happened during my day at the range today. One of the RSO's (a very friendly individual) was talking to another shooter during a break in the shooting and I overheard them talking about gun shows. The RSO stated to the other that gun shows were attended by 10% legal gun owners, 10% law enforcement, and the other 80% were criminals looking to find a cheap gun. The other guy agreed and soon thereafter the "unlicensed dealer" straw man was brought up. They both seemed to think that Oregon had it right in requiring every gun sale be handled through an FFL and NICS. I interjected that in Washington, the WAC puts on the majority of gun shows and you can't buy a gun at a WAC show without being a member, and they do background checks on their members. I also pointed out that statistically, nationwide, less than .1% of crime guns come from gun shows. I never really did get a real response from the two of them. Turns out they're both employed in law enforcement. *sigh* I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out they both believed that something called an "Assault Weapon" really exists.

Anyway, I'm tired and my leg's starting to ache...and the kids need to eat something, so I'll sign off for now.

Later! :-)

"Joyce Foundation" Blasts Gun-Show Loophole

Police chiefs blast gun show loophole

All sales, even private ones, should be licensed, group says

By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
P-I REPORTER

The International Association of Chiefs of Police issued a report Wednesday that calls for stronger gun laws and urges law enforcement agencies to better educate the public about gun violence and to form more partnerships with public health officials in preventing firearms-related deaths.

The organization, which includes police executives from around the country, made 39 recommendations in the report, intended as a guide in countering a rise nationwide in gun violence over the past two years.

The report also implores states to consider enacting legislation that would close the "gun show loophole," a term referring to transactions between private sellers, which allow buyers to avoid mandatory background screenings required by federally licensed gun dealers.

Mayor Greg Nickels and police Chief Gil Kerlikowske have campaigned heavily in favor of such legislation, which has repeatedly failed in the Legislature.

Many of the report's strongest recommendations to local jurisdictions already are in place in Seattle and King County, including policies requiring officers to seize firearms from domestic violence offenders and ensuring officers submit data from all guns recovered on the streets into a federal database.

The report spawned from a summit earlier this year in Chicago, where law enforcement officials, prosecutors and researchers, mostly from the Midwest, met to address gun violence in that region. The Joyce Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to reducing poverty and crime in the Great Lakes region, co-sponsored the event.

"The idea is that it really should be a multifaceted approach. It's not just a police issue. It's a public health issue, it's a youth issue and our schools are involved," said Bob Scales, a Seattle policy analyst who attended on behalf of the city.

"We've got to do a lot of things. It's not enough to say that if we close the gun-show loophole, that's going to solve an 'X' amount of gun incidents."

The wide-ranging report urges state and local governments to strengthen laws barring access to guns for domestic violence offenders, including those convicted of misdemeanors, and the mentally ill. It also suggests that local and state officials consider safety regulations on gun storage and require owners to file a police report if their weapons are stolen.

In Seattle and King County, police seize weapons on domestic-violence arrests and when court protection orders are served, Kerlikowske said. Police also have recorded trace data on all recovered firearms since 2001. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives opened a regional crime gun center in Seattle last year to analyze trends in regional weapons trafficking.

A representative from the Washington-based Concerned Citizens for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said Wednesday he'd not yet read the report. But the gun-control legislation proposed in the report has been intensely opposed by Second Amendment advocacy organizations.

Gun-rights supporters point to studies that show only 1 percent of firearms bought at gun shows are linked to crimes.

Kerlikowske said the most critical issue is that all private gun sales are licensed. Without records of such sales, it's impossible to say how many people illegally obtained firearms when a licensed dealer would have denied them, he said.

"I think there should be a lot of concern," he said. "I'm glad the IACP did this."

The report also advocates for more funding for thorough public health studies of gun violence and urges state and local officials to improve education about gun-related suicides and safe gun ownership.

It notes that 30,000 people die gun-related deaths each year, many from suicide or accidental shootings. The King County Medical Examiner's Office investigated 146 gun-related deaths in 2005, the most current data available. Of those, 32 percent were homicides. All but two of the remaining cases were ruled suicides.

"The IACP report lays out the need for us to adjust our way of thinking about gun violence," said Kristen Comer, executive director of Washington Ceasefire, a gun-control advocacy group. "We must do more to educate the public, especially our young people, about the dangers of gun violence."

P-I reporter Scott Gutierrez can be reached at 206-903-5396 or scottgutierrez@seattlepi.com.

A glimpse inside the mind of the enemy.

Limelight: Washington Ceasefire
Re-calibrating gun control
By Daniel Levisohn
(Commentary by Yuri)

(Something tells me these people need to talk to the JPFO, or possibly a Warsaw Ghetto survivor, it might change their attitude a little bit. You'd also think they would learn a thing or two from Jewish history on the need to keep and bear arms. Instead, they stick they're heads in the sand and hope that everything turns out alright. -Yuri)

This upcoming weekend, employees of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle will quietly commemorate the one-year anniversary of the shooting at its downtown office building.

For Seattle’s Jewish community, July 28, 2006 was a traumatizing introduction to gun violence, both in the scale of the attack and in the alleged shooter’s anti-Semitic motivations. But, even as the shooting was premeditated with the goal of killing Jews, looking back it is also clear the event created waves outside of the Jewish community. For starters, several of the women shot that day were not Jewish, but had intertwined their lives with Jewish causes. Many non-Jewish organizations also came to the Federation’s aid. In a year scarred again and again by the indiscriminate murder of innocent people at the hands of men with guns, the shooting linked Seattle’s Jews to other victimized communities. From the Capitol Hill Massacre to the murder of young Amish schoolchildren to the rampage at Virginia Tech, America’s senseless tolerance of guns was on full display. Taken together, the bloodbaths should have provided a timeline of evidence that our nation’s gun laws need to change — fast.

(I agree. All gun laws are unconstitutional and need to be repealed immediately! -Yuri)

Sadly, transforming the United States of American is a process that is often frustratingly slow. In Washington State, a hope emerged that an overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature might actually make guns more difficult for dangerous people to acquire by passing a plug to the gun-show loophole — a hope driven by so much common sense, it is almost comical that such a law was not passed and remains a political dream.

(This just goes to show that even though the Democrats may be in charge, common sense will still prevail. -Yuri)

Washington Ceasefire is the organization that should be leading the effort to tighten Washington’s gun laws, but in the last few years its own leadership says it has “struggled in the wilderness.” But at a fundraiser on Tuesday, July 17 at the Big Picture, they made a show of beginning to change that. They’ve brought in a new board and a new executive director, Kristen Comer, a young lawyer originally from Spokane who has worked on the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. They’ve also taken the first steps to revamp their strategy. Comer said that within five years we will see a reduction in the number of firearm deaths in Washington.

(The only way I see this happening is if more people start CCW'ing and/or the state makes it easier to carry concealed. Criminals love unarmed victims. -Yuri)

Jew-ish spoke with Comer a few days before the fundraiser.


Jew-ish: A lot of people thought that in 2007 the legislature might actually get something done about gun violence. Can you talk a bit about what happened?

K.C.: I think last year it was traditionally the things that make it difficult. A lot of the time there is not enough political will. The people in the legislature are concerned their constituencies will be upset with them if they enact certain types of gun-control measures, and oftentimes on the other side of the issue their voices are much louder than those who are on our side of the issue.

But I think the tide is changing specifically after the shooting at Virginia Tech. People are realizing there are many loopholes in our laws right now and there are many ways to prevent senseless acts of violence.

(First of all Kristen, my rights are not a loophole, and secondly, you know as well as anyone that if Cho's victims had been legally allowed to CCW on campus, that day at VT didn't have to end the way it did. -Yuri)

Jew-ish: How active was Jewish community on this issue?

K.C.: We certainly worked quite a bit with the Seattle chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women. When we had our committee hearing for the gun-show loophole legislation, I know there were many members of the Jewish community who came to Olympia and showed their support for the legislation. I know it’s also still on the radar screen of the Jewish community as an issue that is important and as an issue to address.

(I was there at that hearing and Pro rights supporters outnumbered those who would take our freedoms away 3:1. It was actually quite heartening. -Yuri)

Jew-ish: Is Washington Ceasefire changing its plans for this upcoming year?

K.C.: We are trying to recalibrate the organization right now because we are in the middle of a change. Our organization going forward is going to have a foundation based upon three different organizational categories: One is a legal component. That will include any sort of legal research to better define what sort of legislation would pass muster and be least likely to be challenged constitutionally in Washington State. We are doing our homework on that front. We are also doing legal research into policy areas we think might be successful that we haven’t considered before. For example, we are looking at how we might influence policy not only at the state level but on a local level as well. In Seattle or Spokane or wherever it might be.

(It's like the old saw about How to Boil a Frog. If you toss him into hot water he'll jump out, but if you bring the heat up gradually you'll have boiled frog for dinner. This just goes to show why even the smallest anti-gun law can be allowed to pass. As time goes on, more and more small laws add up to be one big law and we'll have lost our rights forever. -Yuri)

Jew-ish: Is there more leeway to work locally?

K.C.: That’s part of what we are looking at right now. We have created a legal committee that is staffed with several talented attorneys and we have them doing research right now to figure out what our best alternatives will be.

One of the other prongs is the legislative portion. That is really undefined right now. I think we will probably try to close the gun-show loophole again. (I'll see you in Olympia if you try this again Kristen! -Yuri) But our legislative agenda isn’t set yet for next year. We are going to be meeting with some of our allies in the legislator over the next couple of months to better define what our goals will be is ’08 and ’09 after the elections have occurred.

The third part is our learnedness component, and that’s just getting back to the facts. We know the facts are in our favor. We know that in the United Sates we have the weakest gun laws and the highest rates of gun ownership, and we also have the highest rate of gun violence of any industrialized nation. And we know we can change that. We are going to look at the facts, and try to take the issue into a more credible arena: this is what we know, and this is why gun violence is important to you as an individual person.

(Care to back up these assertions with facts Kristen? No? I didn't think so, because you have none! -Yuri)

Jew-ish: Has Washington Ceasefire focused on the gun-show loophole because the organization feels it is politically achievable or because it thinks it would have a big impact?

K.C.: I was not here when the organization set that as its primary legislative ambition. So I can’t speak as to why that specific policy choice was chosen over many others. But what I do know is that on the face of it seems like a very sensible regulation. If you are purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer and you have to undergo a background check, the same should be true when you are purchasing firearms at a gun show. There are many loopholes. It is just one in the many loopholes we have when enforcing the laws.

(Ignoring the fact that less than 1% of crime guns come from gun shows, she still lies. It doesn't matter whether you buy retail or at a gun show, if you buy from an FFL you still have to pass a background check. The only exception to this is private sales, and gun shows are not the only place that private sales are allowed. Many guns are sold at garage sales or through classified ad's. After she closes the "Gun Show Loophole" is she going to close the "Newspaper Loophole" too? -Yuri)

Jew-ish: Is there evidence that a significant portion of firearm violence comes through the gun-show loophole?

K.C.: The facts are very, very mixed and that is part of what we are pushing for this learnedness component of our new mission going forward. I know the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] put out a study a few years ago that showed that a significant portion of gun purchases at gun shows turn up later in crimes. It’s an easy way for people who can’t buy guns to show up and buy guns without a check.

(Again she lies. Show me the study Kristen. -Yuri)

Jew-ish: Is there anything else you want to tell our readers?

K.C.: We feel there is a lot of really good momentum going in our direction and we think in the next couple of years this issue is going to change. We think that Virginia Tech was shocking to people and rightfully so. And [the House of Representatives] just passed its first major peace of what people are calling gun-control legislation last month. It was the first bill they passed in probably 10 years, since the assault weapons ban, so actually 13 years. So that’s very encouraging. We feel that that sort of momentum will trickle down to the state and local level. And we have a strong mayor and police chief who really believe in our cause, too.

(Notice the repeated dancing in the blood of the VT victims for her own political gain. She also neglects to admit that the "Assault Weapons Ban" only banned certain cosmetic features and the same guns continued to be sold with some minor changes. She further neglects to admit that very few if any crimes were actually committed with these so called "Assault Weapons". I'm surprised she doesn't come out and try to label them "Fully Automatic Machine Guns" like her pal Josh Sugarman.

Folks, we cannot for one second stop in our struggle to keep our rights from going the way of the DoDo. The anti-rights crowd will never stop, and neither should we.

Hmmm... I wonder if the Police Chief ever found his gun?

-Yuri)