Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) wants more control on gun shows in the the form of expanded background checks.
Baton Rouge’s The Advocate reports Edwards wants to expand background checks to cover “all commercial sales.” This would outlaw the private purchase of firearm at a gun show.
Edward’s support of expanding background checks to gun shows is very popular among Democrats at the federal level, too. And those Democrats often defend the push by cloaking it in a desire to make us safer; to keep criminals from acquiring guns. However, numerous studies have shown that criminals do not get their guns at gun shows.
For example, on August 30, 2015, Breitbart News reported an University of Chicago Crime Lab study on Cook County jail inmates which showed inmates who had used guns acquired those firearms on the street rather that outlets like guns shows and the Internet.
And on January 15, 2019, Breitbart News reported a Department of Justice study showing less than one percent of prisoners who used a gun in crime acquired that gun via a gun show.
On the other hand, nearly every high profile public attacker of recent memory acquired his guns via a background check.
Here is a list of some of the high profile attackers who acquired their guns via a background check:
- Garlic Festival attacker (July 28, 2019)
- Virginia Beach attacker (May 31, 2019)
- Poway Synagogue attacker (April 27, 2019)
- Tree of Life Synagogue attacker (October 27, 2018)
- Parkland high school attacker (February 14, 2018)
- Texas church attacker (November 5, 2017)
- Las Vegas attacker (October 1, 2017)
- the Alexandria attacker (June 14, 2017))
- Orlando attacker (June 12, 2016)
- the UCLA gunman (June 1, 2016))
- the San Bernardino attackers (December 2, 2015)
- the Colorado Springs attacker (October 31, 2015)
- the Umpqua Community College attacker (October 1, 2015)
- Alison Parker’s attacker (August 26, 2015)
- the Lafayette movie theater attacker (July 23, 2015)
- the Chattanooga attacker (July 16, 2015)
- the alleged Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal attacker (Jun 17, 2015)
- the Muhammad Carton Contest attackers (May 3, 2014)
- the Las Vegas cop killers (June 9, 2015)
- the Santa Barbara attacker (May 23, 2014)
- the Fort Hood attacker (April 2, 2014)
- the Arapahoe High School attacker (December 13, 2013)
- the D.C. Navy Yard attacker (September 16, 2013)
- the Aurora movie theater attacker (July 20, 2012)
- Gabby Giffords’ attacker (January 8, 2011)
- the Fort Hood attacker (November 5, 2009)
- the Virginia Tech attacker (April 16, 2007)
The DOJ study showed fewer than one percent of prisoners got their guns via a gun show also showed the vast majority of criminals, 36 percent, stole their guns.
So we have high profile attacker after high profile attacker getting his guns via a background check and 36 percent of incarcerated criminals admitting to stealing the guns they used in a crime. At the same time, less than one percent of incarcerated criminals got their guns at a gun show. In the midst of this, Gov. Edwards’ solution is to require background checks at gun shows?
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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