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Gun shows in the United States
In the United States, a gun show is an event where promoters generally rent large public venues and then rent tables for display areas for dealers of guns and related items, and charge admission for buyers. The majority of guns for sale at gun shows are modern sporting firearms. Approximately 5,000 gun shows occur annually in the United States.
Gun shows are typically held in large public facilities such as arenas, fairgrounds, civic centers, and armories. Show promoters charge vendors fees for display tables (from $20 to $145) and booths (from $200 to $400) and charge admission fees (from $5 to $50) for the public. In addition to guns, ammunition, knives, militaria, books and other items are sold.
In 2005, Michael Bouchard, Assistant Director/Field Operations of ATF, estimated that 5,000 gun shows take place each year in the United States. Most gun shows have 2,500 to 15,000 attendees over a two-day period. The number of tables at a gun show varies from as few as fifty to as many as 2,000. At the largest gun shows, over 1,000 firearms are sold over two days. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that it found no definite numbers for U.S. gun shows, but said that estimates ranged from 2,000 to 5,200 a year. In 1999, the ATF reported that 4,442 gun shows were advertised in 1998 in Gun Show Calendar.
The largest gun show in the United States is the annual SHOT Show. Only trade professionals, such as buyers for retail stores or law enforcement agencies, are allowed entry. It has attracted over 60,000 attendees to its 630,000 square feet of exhibition space in Las Vegas. The show is sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry group of firearms and hunting businesses. It is among the top 25 trade shows in the country.
Under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), firearm dealers with a Federal Firearms License (FFL) were prohibited from doing business at gun shows (they were only permitted to do business at the address listed on their license). That changed with the enactment of the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA), which allows FFLs to transfer firearms at gun shows provided they follow the provisions of the GCA and other pertinent federal regulations. In 1999, ATF reported that between 50% and 75% of the vendors at gun shows had FFLs. Only buyers from within the state may purchase handguns.
The so-called "Gun show loophole" is a controversial political term in the United States coined by gun control supporters[citation needed] that refers to sales of firearms by private sellers, including those done at gun shows. Under federal law, private-party sellers are not required to perform background checks on buyers. Private sellers in some states do not need to perform background checks but are usually required to record the sale and/or ask for identification depending on the state or county. There are some Federal rules regarding the sales. As of August 2013, 33 states do not require background checks for sales of firearms by private individuals, while 17 states and Washington, D.C., do require background checks for some or all private firearm sales. This is in contrast to sales by gun stores and other Federal Firearms License holders, who are required by federal law to perform background checks of all buyers, and to record all sales, regardless of venue (i.e. private sales).
In 2000, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) published "Following the Gun", its analysis of more than 1,530 trafficking investigations over a two-and-a-half-year period and found gun shows to have the second highest number of trafficked guns per investigation, after corrupt FFL dealers. (Straw purchasers were the most common channel, but averaged a relatively small number of trafficked guns per investigation compared to corrupt FFLs and gun shows.) These investigations involved a total of 84,128 firearms that had been diverted from legal to illegal commerce. All told, the report identified more than 26,000 firearms that had been illegally trafficked through gun shows in 212 separate investigations. The report stated that:
A prior review of ATF gun show investigations shows that prohibited persons, such as convicted felons and juveniles, do personally buy firearms at gun shows and gun shows are sources of firearms that are trafficked to such prohibited persons. The gun show review found that firearms were diverted at and through gun shows by straw purchasers, unregulated private sellers, and licensed dealers. Felons were associated with selling or purchasing firearms in 46 percent of the gun show investigations. Firearms that were illegally diverted at or through gun shows were recovered in subsequent crimes, including homicide and robbery, in more than a third of the gun show investigations.
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Gun shows in the United States
In the United States, a gun show is an event where promoters generally rent large public venues and then rent tables for display areas for dealers of guns and related items, and charge admission for buyers. The majority of guns for sale at gun shows are modern sporting firearms. Approximately 5,000 gun shows occur annually in the United States.
Gun shows are typically held in large public facilities such as arenas, fairgrounds, civic centers, and armories. Show promoters charge vendors fees for display tables (from $20 to $145) and booths (from $200 to $400) and charge admission fees (from $5 to $50) for the public. In addition to guns, ammunition, knives, militaria, books and other items are sold.
In 2005, Michael Bouchard, Assistant Director/Field Operations of ATF, estimated that 5,000 gun shows take place each year in the United States. Most gun shows have 2,500 to 15,000 attendees over a two-day period. The number of tables at a gun show varies from as few as fifty to as many as 2,000. At the largest gun shows, over 1,000 firearms are sold over two days. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that it found no definite numbers for U.S. gun shows, but said that estimates ranged from 2,000 to 5,200 a year. In 1999, the ATF reported that 4,442 gun shows were advertised in 1998 in Gun Show Calendar.
The largest gun show in the United States is the annual SHOT Show. Only trade professionals, such as buyers for retail stores or law enforcement agencies, are allowed entry. It has attracted over 60,000 attendees to its 630,000 square feet of exhibition space in Las Vegas. The show is sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry group of firearms and hunting businesses. It is among the top 25 trade shows in the country.
Under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), firearm dealers with a Federal Firearms License (FFL) were prohibited from doing business at gun shows (they were only permitted to do business at the address listed on their license). That changed with the enactment of the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA), which allows FFLs to transfer firearms at gun shows provided they follow the provisions of the GCA and other pertinent federal regulations. In 1999, ATF reported that between 50% and 75% of the vendors at gun shows had FFLs. Only buyers from within the state may purchase handguns.
The so-called "Gun show loophole" is a controversial political term in the United States coined by gun control supporters[citation needed] that refers to sales of firearms by private sellers, including those done at gun shows. Under federal law, private-party sellers are not required to perform background checks on buyers. Private sellers in some states do not need to perform background checks but are usually required to record the sale and/or ask for identification depending on the state or county. There are some Federal rules regarding the sales. As of August 2013, 33 states do not require background checks for sales of firearms by private individuals, while 17 states and Washington, D.C., do require background checks for some or all private firearm sales. This is in contrast to sales by gun stores and other Federal Firearms License holders, who are required by federal law to perform background checks of all buyers, and to record all sales, regardless of venue (i.e. private sales).
In 2000, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) published "Following the Gun", its analysis of more than 1,530 trafficking investigations over a two-and-a-half-year period and found gun shows to have the second highest number of trafficked guns per investigation, after corrupt FFL dealers. (Straw purchasers were the most common channel, but averaged a relatively small number of trafficked guns per investigation compared to corrupt FFLs and gun shows.) These investigations involved a total of 84,128 firearms that had been diverted from legal to illegal commerce. All told, the report identified more than 26,000 firearms that had been illegally trafficked through gun shows in 212 separate investigations. The report stated that:
A prior review of ATF gun show investigations shows that prohibited persons, such as convicted felons and juveniles, do personally buy firearms at gun shows and gun shows are sources of firearms that are trafficked to such prohibited persons. The gun show review found that firearms were diverted at and through gun shows by straw purchasers, unregulated private sellers, and licensed dealers. Felons were associated with selling or purchasing firearms in 46 percent of the gun show investigations. Firearms that were illegally diverted at or through gun shows were recovered in subsequent crimes, including homicide and robbery, in more than a third of the gun show investigations.