A newly released crime-and-safety survey shows that nine out of 10 Richmond-area residents support a newly proposed law that would close the so-called "gun-show loophole."
A gun-show loophole allows unlicensed gun dealers and private citizens to sell firearms at gun shows without making background checks of purchasers. Out of several states that have the supposed "loophole," Virginia is trying to be one of the first to close it.
Unfortunately, Virginia residents were surveyed before the latest research conducted by the National Academy of Sciences was released, which reports that only seven-tenths of 1 percent of criminals interviewed used a weapon obtained at a gun-show in the commission of a crime.
Point being that criminals don't frequent gun-shows because their preferred method of acquiring arms is by theft and underground, illegal sellers. Gun-rights activists continue to be perplexed as to why their opponents and others want to draft legislation that would (possibly) hamper the efforts of extremely few criminals when the focus should perhaps be on the punishment of early-time offenders and prevent them from committing again and worse.
The likely effect on gun-show enthusiasts -- as it's too early to tell for sure -- will be minimum because even if the number of sellers decline due to private citizens not wanting to go through the hassle of dealing with federal agents and background checks, there will still be plenty of licensed dealers to shop from.
And, of course, private citizens can sell their arms outside the gates or via a method of exchange you'd use to buy and sell any other consumer goods - such as newspaper ads, fliers, internet auctions, garage sales and virtually every other method. It's this reason alone why gun-rights supporters argue the uselessness of gun-show legislation.
State Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, is sponsoring a bill to close the loophole. Last week, it narrowly passed the Courts of Justice committee by an 8-7 vote. It will go to the Senate floor tomorrow.
Critics of the loophole say the exemption makes it easier for felons and others prohibited from owning guns to shop for weapons, and ultimately leads to more crime and violence.
S. Buford Scott, a member of Richmond Renaissance who advocated the study, called the Marsh bill "an important and quite achievable first step" that is "going to take a lot of work.
A lot of work, yes, for something they hope will cut away at the seven-tenths of 1 percent figure. It's likely that Mr. Scott is unaware of the overwhelming evidence that defeats the idea of criminals bringing shopping bags to gun shows.
The crime-and-safety survey was conducted by the Richmond-based Southeastern Institute for Research, which relied upon phone interviews last October of 800 registered voters in Richmond and in Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties.
"The study confirms most of what we already suspected," said Jim Dunn, the chamber's president. "People are genuinely worried about the level of crime in the region and they want solutions."
Well of course you're going to get feedback suggesting citizens are concerned about crime. Who isn't? What's misleading is that the questions don't rate just how "worried" people are about crime, and it doesn't suggest that those who are want more gun control to be the preferred method of reducing it.
Naturally, the survey was conducted out of political reasons that tie on the side of gun control and the researchers, as in the case of the National Academy of Sciences, was hoping to find results that warrant stricter gun control. But here is what the survey reported that may have surprised the researchers:
- Roughly two out of five households in the Richmond area own a gun.
- One in six respondents has either used a gun in self-defense or knows someone who has used a gun in self-defense.
- Nearly six of every 10 respondents favor the right to carry a gun.
- Nearly half the people surveyed (45 percent) don't think gun-control legislation will have any impact on their quality of life. And one-third think it will have no impact at all on reducing crime.
But a lot of respondents are concerned; while more than three quarters of respondents (76 percent) rate the quality of life as good, 60 percent of respondents said crime is the biggest threat to their quality of life, and more than half (54 percent) think crime has increased in the region over the past year.
But are these findings a mandate for tighter gun control?
The survey says nearly six out of 10 people (58 percent) in the Richmond area believe increased control of gun sales would help reduce crime. For an issue that is highly misunderstood by the public, I would have expected a lot more than half of the respondents to believe in some form of gun control - especially when that question comes after several that talk about crime rates with no other possible solutions to chose from.
