Gun show scare
Behind a table bearing shotguns and revolvers, and next to a hand-written sign that read “Private Sale; No Paperwork!,” Mike Smith sat waiting for business.
Smith’s gun sale was private in one sense. But it was held in a very public place — the Salem Civic Center, where hundreds of gun lovers browsed through thousands of shotguns, rifles and handguns at a recent gun show.
If someone lingered at Smith’s table long enough to strike a deal, the transaction was fast and simple.
A Virginia law that requires potential gun customers to pass a criminal background check does not apply to transactions by unlicensed vendors such as Smith, whose occasional sales don’t generate enough business to subject them to government scrutiny.
Mr. Smith is not an unlicensed dealer. He’s a citizen engaging in lawful commerce. However, if he did enough volume, the ATF could attempt to prosecute him for being an unlicensed dealer and that would lead to quite a few years in the pokie.
