Gun Grabbers Ignore Current Laws
Kevin Felts 10.30.17
Have you ever read something that was so far out in left field, you wonder how the author arrived at their conclusion? Such is this example, which calls for stricter gun laws to stop straw purchases.
A straw purchase is when a person buys a firearm for someone who cannot legally own a firearm. For example, someone who would not be able to pass a background check might ask a cohort to buy a gun for him.
Straw purchases are already prohibited by state and federal laws.
Rather than calling for the enforcement of such laws, gun control proponents call for more laws.
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune made me scratch my head. It talks about how a number of guns used in Chicago crimes come from certain gun stores.
The article suggests:
[…] videotaping of gun transactions so that straw purchasers can be identified.
Rather than looking at the ATF Form 4473 and finding a photocopy of the buyer’s ID, someone wants to put government-controlled cameras in the store? Exactly what is that supposed to do? The straw purchaser has to present a photo ID to buy the firearm, so the gun store already has their identification.
Based on that ID, the store calls in for a background check and the sale is completed.
And yeah, it’s illegal to use a fake ID to buy a gun.
Rather than passing new laws, why not go after the straw purchaser? Find that person, and if they have a history of buying guns that turn up at crime scenes, put that person on trial. Let a jury decide whether they were a straw purchaser or just some unlucky soul that got tangled up in something bad.
If the government would enforce laws already on the books, a lot of these gun problems would go away. Put definite straw purchasers in prison, right next to the person who committed a crime with the gun. Then keep them in prison for as long as the law allows.
Seems reasonable, right?
