The Patriot Post® · Biden's 'Gun Show Loophole' Gaslighting

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)