Steven Mace
02-12-2002, 03:44 AM
Sat 9-Feb-2002
Gun activist dismisses background check bill
By ROB YOUNG
Herald Times Reporter
MANITOWOC – An area gun rights advocate predicted Friday that proposed legislation requiring background checks of all handgun buyers at gun shows would do little to prevent crime.
The Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, or WAVE, and the Education Fund to Stop Gun Violence held a news conference Thursday in Madison to announce new legislation by Sen. Brian Burke, D-Milwaukee, that would require background checks for all handgun transactions.
The bill, which is still being drafted, will be similar to one Burke proposed in the last session of the Legislature and would close the so-called gun show loophole, said Burke aide Bob Allen.
"You couldn’t go (into a gun show) and walk out with a handgun. It would pretty much require all private transactions of handguns to go through a licensed dealer," Allen said.
Gene Hynek, a Manitowoc County member of the Friends of the National Rifle Association, said a few handguns are sold without background checks at guns shows. But most sellers are licensed dealers who do checks, he said.
Buyers pick up their guns at the dealer’s place of business after the required waiting period, he said.
Hynek said he frequently attends shows but has not seen "this criminal element walking around buying firearms."
Hynek said "zero tolerance" programs, which automatically send criminals to jail for possessing firearms, are a more effective way to keep guns off the street.
Desmond Riley, an official with the Coaliton to Stop Gun Violence, said 25 percent to 50 percent of sellers at gun shows nationwide are not licensed dealers.
Eleven states require background checks on all handgun sales at gun shows: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island.
Burke introduced a similar bill in the last session of the Legislature that never made it out of committee, Allen said.
"It’s an uphill climb. But the (national handgun control advocates) will tell you other states have a similar thing. Brian seems to think it’s not that radical a proposal that all handgun sales be treated pretty much the same way," Allen said.
As many as 40 percent of handgun sales may not be subject to background checks, he said.
http://www.wisinfo.com/heraldtimes/local/020902-2.html
Steve Mace
Gun activist dismisses background check bill
By ROB YOUNG
Herald Times Reporter
MANITOWOC – An area gun rights advocate predicted Friday that proposed legislation requiring background checks of all handgun buyers at gun shows would do little to prevent crime.
The Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, or WAVE, and the Education Fund to Stop Gun Violence held a news conference Thursday in Madison to announce new legislation by Sen. Brian Burke, D-Milwaukee, that would require background checks for all handgun transactions.
The bill, which is still being drafted, will be similar to one Burke proposed in the last session of the Legislature and would close the so-called gun show loophole, said Burke aide Bob Allen.
"You couldn’t go (into a gun show) and walk out with a handgun. It would pretty much require all private transactions of handguns to go through a licensed dealer," Allen said.
Gene Hynek, a Manitowoc County member of the Friends of the National Rifle Association, said a few handguns are sold without background checks at guns shows. But most sellers are licensed dealers who do checks, he said.
Buyers pick up their guns at the dealer’s place of business after the required waiting period, he said.
Hynek said he frequently attends shows but has not seen "this criminal element walking around buying firearms."
Hynek said "zero tolerance" programs, which automatically send criminals to jail for possessing firearms, are a more effective way to keep guns off the street.
Desmond Riley, an official with the Coaliton to Stop Gun Violence, said 25 percent to 50 percent of sellers at gun shows nationwide are not licensed dealers.
Eleven states require background checks on all handgun sales at gun shows: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island.
Burke introduced a similar bill in the last session of the Legislature that never made it out of committee, Allen said.
"It’s an uphill climb. But the (national handgun control advocates) will tell you other states have a similar thing. Brian seems to think it’s not that radical a proposal that all handgun sales be treated pretty much the same way," Allen said.
As many as 40 percent of handgun sales may not be subject to background checks, he said.
http://www.wisinfo.com/heraldtimes/local/020902-2.html
Steve Mace