Group to study gun loophole (VA)

The Washington Times ^ | 9-10-08 | Dena Potter

[JZelle]

RICHMOND | Disabled and down on his luck, former gun dealer Alfred "Speedy" Mercer sold some of his firearms collection a couple years ago to help pay the bills.

He sold some at gun shows, and as a private seller he no longer had to conduct the background checks on buyers that federally licensed dealers are required to perform.

That "gun-show loophole" has been debated by gun advocates and opponents in Virginia for more than a decade. But on Tuesday, Republican legislators on the Virginia State Crime Commission took the debate in a new direction. Instead of focusing on whether private sellers at gun shows should be required to do the checks, they argued legislators' time would be better spent determining whether someone such as Mr. Mercer would fit the federal definition of a private seller or a dealer.

"I'm concerned because I've read that definition three or four times now and I can't tell you whether you fit under it or not," said Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, Virginia Beach Republican, told Mr. Mercer during the meeting.

Federal law requires those whose "principal objective of livelihood and profit" is the sale of guns to get a federal firearms license. Those who fit the definition but do not obtain a license face federal charges.

[Gaffer]

In honor of all the gun-loop holes and other nonsense. I went out yesterday and purchased a Colt 1911 Defender...a really sweet, light weapon with a 45 punch that’s small enough to keep in the car.....

[Myrddin]

The guy was selling his personally owned property to recover the original investment. That is a private seller. An FFL sells products by ordering a firearm from a distributor and selling it at retail to a customer including a markup over the distributor's price, shipping and sales tax. The distinction is pretty obvious to me. Politicians may not be bright enough to comprehend the difference OR may have an underlying agenda that inhibits intelligent thinking.

[A Strict Constructionist]

Love mine, very reliable and accurate for it’s size.

[GovernmentShrinker]

An FFL sells products by ordering a firearm from a distributor and selling it at retail to a customer including a markup over the distributor's price, shipping and sales tax.

Not necessarily. A lot of dealers do the majority of their business in sales and trade-ins of used firearms. A few may do exclusively that. Of course, any requirement for an FFL license is unconstitutional in any case . . .

[Myrddin]

My favorite local FFL does run a brisk business in used and trade-ins on top of ordering new stuff from distributors. Still, there is a difference between your privately owned firearms and your business inventory. All my firearms fall in the prior category. I've never had any business inventory of firearms that was intended for resale at retail. The article said he was selling firearms from his "collection", not from his remaining business inventory.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Note that the ATF (especially under Clinton) has revoked the FFLs of many small sellers, and refused to grant applications of many such sellers since then.

If you can’t get an ATF license, you certainly should be able to act as a private seller. And the consequences for selling without a license should simply be an invitation to apply for (and then receive) an FFL.

[ozzymandus]

A similar thing happened to an elderly gun dealer I know. He surrendered his license and proceded to sell the guns he still had, since they were his private property. BATF swooped in and confiscated his guns. He’s in his 80’s, and after spending thousands on lawyers, they still have most of his guns.(They generously returned his black powder and pre-1898 guns, since they are not regulated, however, the also confiscated a whisky bottle shaped like a gun)

ATF finds harrassing law-abiding citizens much safer than actually disarming violent criminals.

[ozzymandus]

A similar thing happened to an elderly gun dealer I know. He surrendered his license and proceded to sell the guns he still had, since they were his private property. BATF swooped in and confiscated his guns. He’s in his 80’s, and after spending thousands on lawyers, they still have most of his guns.(They generously returned his black powder and pre-1898 guns, since they are not regulated, however, the also confiscated a whisky bottle shaped like a gun)

ATF finds harrassing law-abiding citizens much safer than actually disarming violent criminals.

[RobinOfKingston]

... OR may have an underlying agenda ...

You just may be onto something there.