My answer to the gun show "loophole" [View All]

More accurately, the way I would go about assisting private citizens ensure they are not selling a firearm to a prohibited person.


First, it is important to understand that there is no such thing as a gun show "loophole". It does not exist. There is nothing different about selling a gun at a show than any other venue, be it a parking lot, a classified ad, your kitchen, the buyer's kitchen, a range you frequent, all of these are the same.

A gun show is simply a rented hall where a variety of Federal Firearms Licensees rent tables, and set up shop for the day. Non-FFLs can also rent tables, be they custom knife makers, people who sell ammunition and accessories but no actual firearms, people who sell outdoorsy clothing, whatever.

Any FFL who has rented a table is not suddenly exempted from the State and Federal laws that they are obligated to follow at every other location. They literally move their business, for the duration of the show, from their home shop to a table or two at the location of the shop.

Just as the FFLs are still under the exact same rules and regulations regarding the sale of firearms, so is everyone else in the venue.

What that means, is that where ordinarily a private citizen has the right to sell off private property at will, with firearms the rules governing sale to another private citizen mean that the seller must not sell a firearm to a person they know or have a good reason to suspect is prohibited from owning firearms. However, with the current state of affairs there is no unobtrusive and cost-effective means for them to determine if someone is lying about their status beyond checking to make sure they have an in-state driver's license.


FFLs use the National Instant Criminal Check System, which is illegal for a private citizen to use. So how do we institute an effective system that meshes with current requirements, is real-world compatible, is cheap, and doesn't infringe on anyone's rights or privacy?

The answer, I think, is to start marking every driver's license and state ID with a small, unobtrusive marking on the back of the card. Maybe a small green diamond for everyone who has not achieved prohibited status, and a small red square for anyone who has. To implement it, whenever someone goes before a court and loses the right to possess firearms, which is how everyone has their rights stripped, part of the process will be to either mark their existing ID then and there or require them to turn in their ID before being allowed to leave, then when they go get their new ID, it will be appropriately marked.



So what does everyone think about them apples?