LAS VEGAS (KSNV MyNews3) -- The "Gun Show Loophole," where private gun owners can sell to others without checking the buyer's background, is being examined by many after Friday’s tragic shooting at a Connecticut school.
But gun enthusiasts argue that access to guns is not the root of the problem -- it's the people pulling the trigger.
Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel of ACLU Nevada, says the so-called gun show loophole enables prohibited gun purchasers like drug users, domestic abusers and criminals easy access to guns.
All they have to do is find a private dealer -- no accountability necessary and no background check needed. So he says there needs to be a change in the law.
“Clearly there's a loophole,” he said. “Through gun shows, people who are violent ex-felons can buy all sorts of weapons without any kind of background check,
“The law should encompass those kinds of sells in terms of background checks. I think responsible gun owners would appreciate the process they go through is done for everyone purchasing a firearm.”
Not everyone sees it that way. David Famiglietti, executive director of Battlefield Las Vegas says there is no need to close the loophole because he says one doesn't exist.
A federal law allows people who are not in the business of selling guns, but who sell them on occasion, to do so without a federal license.
“The problem is way past how they're acquiring the firearms,” he said.
Famiglietti says if you want safer schools and communities, get better security.
“If one teacher had a pistol, there wouldn't have been as many casualties,” he said.
Because as saddening as Friday's tragedy was, Famiglietti says gun shows are the way to offer a safer place to live
“Gun shows aren't the problem; the gun itself is not the problem,” he said. “The people using it are.”
