NewsFebruary 7, 2016
Presidential executive actions spur gun sales locally, sheriff, dealers say
Two men brought pistols Friday to the Cape Girardeau Gun Show at the Arena Building, but not in any capacity as a dealer. They walked up and down the aisles with the gun boxes under their arms, eventually meeting in the middle to try to make a trade...
Two men brought pistols Friday to the Cape Girardeau Gun Show at the Arena Building, but not in any capacity as a dealer. They walked up and down the aisles with the gun boxes under their arms, eventually meeting in the middle to try to make a trade.
"There are more sales in the aisles than behind the tables," a licensed dealer who refused to give his name said.
President Barack Obama in January announced an executive action that would prohibit sales from unlicensed dealers even at gun shows.
"It's going to have an impact on sales. They're through the roof," Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan said of the executive actions. "They are scared of this president. ... People have had the rights to sell guns as an individual for 200 years."
There were many sellers at the gun show Friday who sold from their personal collections and did not have to perform a background check.
Jon Ham, public information officer for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said it is legal for individuals to sell guns in Missouri with no waiting period and no background check. It is illegal to sell to someone with a criminal record, but law enforcement would need to prove the seller knew the person had a criminal record.
"You have to have two people talk against each other," Ham said of the usual process to prove someone knew the other person had a criminal record.
One such seller, who refused to give his name, did make it clear he records all the purchasers' personal information before the sale is completed, so he can trace the gun in the event it's used in a crime.
"I ask a guy if he's a felon," he said. "I can tell if he's lying. Your eyes won't lie."
However, many of the unlicensed sellers had no such requirements for a purchase. Two, who also refused to give their names, said one of their requirements is the person confirms they are a resident of Missouri, because it is illegal to sell to anyone from outside the state. They also said they would not sell a gun to anyone younger than 21.
"You talk to somebody and you can tell," one seller said of whether the buyer has intentions to use the gun for a crime.
The sellers did say there is an option to have a licensed dealer do a background check when they are suspicious.
Licensed dealers, who have to perform phone background checks even at gun shows, generally remarked it was a bit of a double standard there are people selling from their personal collections.
"There's people who buy a gun, they walk the aisle 50 feet and sell it to somebody else," said Norm Coleman of Norm's Guns. He said it is illegal for someone to sell a gun they have owned for less than 24 hours.
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
One unlicensed dealer, who refused to give his name, remarked the honor system they function under is flawed. He also said a required psychological background check might be the best course of action to prevent guns from being used in mass shootings.
"I never sold to anyone who had on a mask and looked like they would rob a bank," he said.
Coleman and other licensed dealers said most sales at the show were completely above board. For them, the process is no different than in their gun stores. Even they worry about straw buyers, who can pass a background check and then sell that gun to a person with a criminal record. Coleman said the only way to tell whether someone is a straw buyer is if they are in the store with another person.
"The folks at the guns show, the vast majority are law abiding citizens and they're just exercising their Second Amendment rights," Jordan said.
Dealers unanimously said there is no obvious solution for mass shootings, on the basis that if somebody wanted to get a gun to kill people they were going to find a way to do it.
"I don't see any way to stop it," Coleman said.
According to shootingtracker.com, there were 355 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2015, including 11 in Missouri.
Lanell Lange, owner of Shooters gun store in Cape Girardeau said sales increased for the store in December in part because of fear brought on by the nationally publicized mass shooting in San Bernadino, California.
"Any time there's a mass shooting there is a bit of a spike," she said.
Jordan said the Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department approved 300 concealed-carry permits in January.
"It is a record setting pace," Jordan said.
bkleine@semissourian.com
(573) 388-3644
Pertinent address:
410 Kiwanis Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Story Tags
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.
Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
