White House Cracks Down On ‘Gun Show Loophole’

Above, the Gallup Gun Show of November 2019. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Biden Administration is trying to close the so-called "gun show loophole" by forcing gun dealers to get a Federal Firearms License (FFL) and run background check on all firearm purchases.

My experience in gun purchases have been in Arizona, California and New Mexico with licensed gun dealers who always ran background checks. I have never purchased a firearm at a gun show. But I have seen others buy firearms at gun shows and the dealers ran background checks on them. 

Apparently, not all gun dealers have FFLs and Biden is trying to circumvent Congress in enacting new rules. There's no statutes for this.

The article below indicates that Biden is trying put the cart before the horse since there is currently is no legal authority to do so.

According to the Washington Examiner:

President Joe Biden’s administration announced new rules targeting unlicensed firearm dealers on Thursday in an attempt to close the “gun show loophole.”

The new regulations, which are aimed at implementing changes outlined in a provision of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, will require dealers to obtain a license and conduct background checks regardless of location. The White House also demanded action from Congress toward requiring universal background checks to complement the new guidelines.

“Today, my Administration is taking action to make sure fewer guns are sold without background checks,” Biden said in a statement. “This is going to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and felons.” 

Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), along with other Republican senators, plan to introduce a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act to attempt to overturn the “engaged in the business” rule, according to a Cornyn spokesperson. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) will lead a review in the House.

Cornyn’s office was adamant that Congress has rejected the provisions “repeatedly,” adding that the policies are not included in the BSCA.

To read the full article, go here. 

Today Was A Dud

Above, the Gallup Gun Show of November 2019. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The snow this morning was a bit of an omen that today would be a bit of a dud.

Instead of going to Grandpa's Grill in Gallup, we went instead to Denny's at the Flying J. We decided to go to the Gallup Gun Show while we were at Denny's. The snow was pretty much melted away from the area roads.

We (I rode with Greg and Larry Lucier) headed to the Gallup Community Center after breakfast. When we got there, there were no cars and the Community Center was all locked up.

I called the sponsor of the show, Blue Maverick Guns and left a message. Minutes later they called back and said the show was canceled. The reason: only three vendors signed on. You can't have much of gun show with only three vendors. They said even the local gun dealers didn't participate. 

Oh, well. Like Greg and Larry said, we saved some money.  

More Spring Snow

Above, this morning's snow. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This morning, I woke up to about 2" of snow on the ground and deck. This was a bit of a surprise.

Our group is supposed to go to Grandpa's Grill in Gallup and, from there, go to the Gallup Gun Show.

Hopefully, the snow will melt by the time we're supposed to go. If not, maybe we'll have to wait and go to the gun show tomorrow.

I thought we're in springtime.

Gallup Gun Show

Above, the Gallup Gun Show. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The other day while driving in Gallup to go to the Gallup Flea Market, I noticed a small sign (the size of a realtor sign) in a vacant lot. I noticed it said "gun show", but drove on without stopping to look.

Then this morning, while perusing the Gun Owners of New Mexico Facebook page, I came across this:

Since I haven't been to a gun show since the last Great Western Gun Show at the Fairplex in Pomona, California in the late 1990s, I decided to go. I am glad I did.

The Gallup Gun Show is a small show, but it had plenty of vendors. I spoke with one of the sponsors and he said that this is a new show, with the first one held last April. The next one will be in March. The dates will be March 14-15, 2020 at the same venue, the Gallup Community Service Center (off Exit 22 of Interstate 40).

Above, the venue, the Gallup Community Service Center. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While wandering around the tables, I found the prices of the guns for sale to be quite reasonable even though I wasn't looking to buy any guns. While there, I did buy a couple of boxes of 30-30 Winchester ammo for the Winchester 94.

Above, there were plenty of pistols and rifles to look at. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The show host for the Gallup Gun Show is Los Alamos Ammo. They gave me a list of upcoming gun shows in New Mexico, some they host and some are hosted by others. While looking over, I said there's a lot of shows. One of the hosts replied, "This is a gun state!"

Above, it was easy to browse since the attendance was light. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I am looking forward to the next show.

Above, in Six Mile Canyon this afternoon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After leaving the gun show, I relaxed at home over a cup of coffee. Once I was done with that, I got the Jeep out of the garage and did some driving through Six Mile Canyon.

It turned out to be a rather enjoyable day.