April 15, 2024

Biden’s ‘Gun Show Loophole’ Gaslighting

The ATF trots out new regulations designed to make it harder for law-abiding Americans to buy or sell a firearm.

The Second Amendment is likely the Left’s most hated constitutional right.

Thus, Joe Biden is touting his effort to combat “gun violence” with his administration’s latest Second Amendment encroachment. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, commonly known as the ATF, will soon issue a new rule that is being advertised as closing the so-called “gun show loophole.”

This supposed “loophole” is largely a myth, similar to the Democrats’ repeated claims that the wealthy aren’t paying their fair share in taxes. Most of those who sell firearms at gun shows are licensed dealers, and they are already required to conduct a background check for all gun purchases.

For clarity, the Gun Control Act of 1968 defined a private gun seller as anyone who sells no more than four firearms a year, and doing so doesn’t require a federal firearms license. In 1986, the Firearm Owners Protection Act was passed. It lifted the four-gun annual sale limit for private sellers and changed the definition to someone who does not rely on firearms sales for their principal livelihood. Do people engage in private gun sales at gun shows? Certainly, but these private sales can occur nearly anywhere, not just at gun shows. It is therefore erroneous to call it a “gun show loophole” because the vast majority of firearm purchases that occur at shows are through licensed firearm dealers and require background checks. What the Biden administration is cracking down on is private gun sales, irrespective of where they occur.

But don’t let the reality of the situation get in the way of the Democrats’ “gun violence” narrative. As Attorney General Merrick Garland asserted, “Under this regulation, it will not matter if guns are sold on the Internet, at a gun show, or at a brick-and-mortar store: if you sell guns predominantly to earn a profit, you must be licensed, and you must conduct background checks.”

The problem with the ATF’s regulation has been one of defining who a “gun dealer” is. The ATF aims to expand the definition of who can be classified as a gun dealer and, therefore, be required to be licensed to sell a firearm.

The ATF claims that this regulation will impact some 23,000 unlicensed dealers. Where is it getting this data?

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris ridiculously asserted that this new regulation does not infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights. “Every person in our nation has a right to live free from the horror of gun violence. I do believe that,” Harris stated. “We know how to prevent these tragedies, and it is a false choice to say you are either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away.”

Really? The false choice is the notion that we must infringe on the Second Amendment in order to “prevent these tragedies.” As researcher John Lott has painstakingly documented, the truth is the exact opposite. The greater the gun ownership, the lower the instance of violent crime.

While we may sound like a broken record, the most obvious truth must once again be stated: Murderous seekers of mass casualties always choose soft targets — “gun-free zones.” Therefore, the best way to protect soft targets like schools is to harden them with individuals with guns. Put another way: The best way to protect kids is with guns.

Biden sat for an interview with Spanish-speaking Univision this week and made several false claims regarding laws currently regulating firearms, such as, “We don’t have background checks for anybody purchasing a weapon.” He also claimed he taught about the Second Amendment in law school and falsely asserted that it was written with limitations on what arms Americans could own.

“From the very beginning, there were limitations,” Biden stated. “You couldn’t own a cannon. You couldn’t. … You could own a rifle or a gun. They weren’t weapons of war.” He was wrong on every one of those claims — one lie after another.

Is it any wonder so many Americans refuse to trust Biden? Is it any wonder so many Americans look with disdain and contempt at Washington’s bureaucrats who can hardly define the components of a firearm, much less the laws regulating them? And yet Biden and Harris are demanding more “common sense” gun control laws.

(Updated for clarity)

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.