Argumentative Essay: Close The Gun Show Loopholes

Close the Gun Show Loophole .

“If it’s OK to register cars and license drivers, why is it not OK to impose similar legal responsibilities on gun owners?” (Steven King). In most places in the United States people are required to register their weapons, so the government is able to track sales, but there is a different story at gun shows. People at gun shows can effortlessly get their hands on weapons illegally. These weapons are sold through private-party sellers without background checks or identification. Gun shows can indeed bring forth safety concerns with misfires due to human error. While gun shows permit the illegal obtainment of guns through private owners, there is a simple solution to ceasing this issue through background checks

A private party seller can sell any gun without requiring a form of documentation, creating a loophole for anyone that does not want to get a background check. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, also known as the Brady Bill, was passed in 1993 by the United States Congress. It requires licensed arms dealers to run background checks through the FBI. It is unjustifiable for the licensed dealer to have to pay for a background check and follow laws when a private party seller can just hand the gun over to whomever they want. The Act also states that if a gun is purchased at a gun show, you have to be a resident of the state in which it is purchased, and you cannot cross state lines with the weapon. If identification isn’t required, then the seller is unaware of where the buyer resides. This loophole creates a way for convicted felons, mentally ill individuals, illegal immigrants, and most unnerving, terrorists to purchase firearms, including military assault rifles that they could not legally purchase anywhere else. In Comp’s article he writes, “But I can’t pick it up, not legally, my lawyer has advised. With felony drug possession and bail jumping charges pending against me. It is a federal crime for me to buy the gun and for the tall man at the gun show to sell it to me” (Comp 11-13). Comp had said this because the private seller had said he could buy anything he wanted. This law needs to be corrected; everyone needs to have a background