More anti-gun researchers admit…That there is no gun show loophole.

Was sorting through some photos last night and realized that I had never posted this shot of the huge billboard along I-90 in Boston just outside of Fenway Park:

We Sell Guns Billboard in Boston

No ID Required. No Background Checks. Criminals & Terrorists Welcome!

What I find most amusing about it is that not only is it NOT accurate as far as gun shows go, it’s actually pretty accurate as far as US border policy goes. These folks want to close a “gun show loophole” that doesn’t exist but (and I’m guessing here) would probably not support building a wall to close the “border loophole.”

I don’t know who funds this billboard.

Testing Minnesota’s gun show loophole

I decided to try to buy a gun. To hear the Citizens for a Safer Minnesota tell it, this would be an easy task. I didn’t have a permit, but surely these gun merchants would insist I purchase their wares, federal red tape be damned.

As anyone who’s spent much time at gun shows knows, you can’t just buy guns without ID or background checks from dealers.

Critics of the story cry about the fact that the writer only tried to buy from dealers and not from individuals. But, whether he meant to or not, he made the point that it’s not a “gun show loophole” at all. If the antis want to ban individual person to person sales, let them try while calling it a “ban on individual person to person sales.”

Overheard a guy telling someone that his buddy wanted them to go down and get their concealed carry permit so they could buy guns at gun shows without having to fill out paperwork or anything.

I had to stop and explain that, in Michigan, owning a Concealed Pistol License allows you to purchase handguns without having previously acquired a 10-day permit to purchase from the local law enforcement agency, but that all the standard paperwork and background checks were still required.

Which reminds me of the big sign out along I-90 in Boston near Fenway. I got a pic and will post it tonight.

The antis rely on people believing lies. Unfortunately, a lot of people do exactly that.

Sailor Curt: If passing laws that are impossible to follow isn’t a round-about way of eliminating gun shows, I don’t know what is.

Gang thugs sometimes use stolen guns? It’s NOT the Gun Show Loophole?

Tam:

Frankly, a gun show without Nazis to mock would be like a gun show without beef jerky.

Via Uncle.

UPDATE: From a commenter at MO:

My favorite memory is from a gun show in NC a few years back.

The local chapter of the KKK had a table selling ridiculously racist t-shirts and bumper stickers. And right beside them were three black guys selling rhinestone studded .25 semi-autos for $99. And they got along fine all weekend.

That was an “only in America” sight to behold!

Good news from a very gun-unfriendly state.

HB 48, the bill banning all private sales of firearm in Illinois went down today 60-55-1. This was THE big push by the Brady Campaign, ICPGV, and ICHV in the state.

Adds Sebastian:

This doesn’t bode well chances of national passage of the same measure if it can’t pass in Obama’s home state of Illinois.

and

Banning private sales would make transferring firearms under certain conditions economically infeasible, which is probably the point. It’s not like gang members will care, and suddenly start process their gats through local FFLs. [emphasis Murdoc's]

None of this has anything to do with keeping gangbangers from getting their gats, and everyone knows it. Just like new AWB proposals have nothing to do with machine guns in Mexico.

Kevin notes an article on the “gun show loophole.”

Very much worth reading.

The 2009 SHOT Show in Orlando, Florida, was going to be split between two halls at the Orange County Convention Center. Overflow has been common for the past several years as the number of exhibitors has outpaced the available floor space. Pressurized tents, outbuilding, and temporary structures have all served to house the extras, and both vendors and attendees have suffered for it.

The announcement was just made, however, that there has been a change in plans:

Because of persistent negotiating, creative planning and the cooperation of the Orange County Convention Center, all of the exhibitors scheduled to display in two separate buildings, North-South and West, instead will be in one central location.

By utilizing lobbies and meeting rooms, all exhibitors will now be in the West Hall.

“It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” said Jeanette Mannuzza, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s manager of exhibitions & conferences. “For the attendee, it means the convenience of being under one roof and not having to cross a pedestrian bridge or wait for shuttle busses to go from one hall to another.

For the exhibitor, it translates into a lot of exposure,” she added.

At first glance, this is great news. No more trudging long distances between the main halls and the outliers. No more missing a whole group because you overlooked some little building off in the corner of the parking lot. Without fail, I’ve found that when I need to follow up with someone, they’re in the other section. The show is big enough as it is. Miles and miles and miles of walking each day. The lack of half hour “transits” out to the overflow will be a welcome change.

The only thing I worry about is the fact that the exhibitors scheduled for the huge North/South building are being put in “lobbies and meeting rooms.” I’m not sure how much of the other building was going be used for the SHOT Show, but now I worry that vendors are going to be scattered throughout the maze of upper-floor corridors in the West building.

We’ll see.