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By Ben Duke '18  “More gun ownership means more gun violence.” Not exactly. Gun crimes on a whole have decreased since the early 2000s while gun ownership has increased. Though the homicide rate with guns has remained relatively steady, the vast majority (somewhere on the magnitude of around 84% to around 97%) of these crimes, however, are committed with illegal guns.
So, what makes an illegal gun? A gun that’s bought by someone with a criminal record, for example—or, even more commonly, a gun bought on the black market. In the US, dealers (as opposed to occasional, private sellers—you can see the specific differences here) are required to have a federal license to sell arms, and are furthermore federally mandated to receive a photo ID from the buyer and pass them through the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check). While guns may pass from private citizen to private citizen without going through the NICS, it is 100% illegal to sell guns in this fashion regularly. It is also illegal to buy guns—albeit legally—for another person. These people are referred to as straw buyers (the most high-profile instance of this was the San Bernardino shootings, in which a friend of the two shooters bought the weapons). Sound familiar? This is what people refer to as the “gun show loophole.” It doesn’t really have anything to do with gun shows, as the ATF specifically states that: “A person can be engaged in the business of dealing with firearms regardless of the location in which firearm transactions are conducted. For example, a person can be engaged in the business of dealing with firearms even if the person only conducts firearm transactions at gun shows or through the internet.” Instead, the ‘loophole’ refers to the ability to sell between private citizens. Those selling at gun shows are looking to turn a profit—as you have to pay the show holders to sell at a gun show—which means they are legally required to have an FFL, and they have a 250,000$ fine and five years imprisonment hanging over their heads if they want to sell illegally. Thus, the amount of regulation currently in place is prohibitive enough to stop widespread violence, and is lax enough to protect the rights guaranteed to all Americans by the 2nd Amendment. Those events such as Texas or Las Vegas are results of America’s failing mental healthcare system and human error leading to a tragedy that could have been avoided.
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