First of all. Let's unpack who did this mass shooting. He was a convicted felon. Dishonourably discharged. It takes a special kind of person to be DD. So now, with that said, its already ILLEGAL for him to possess a firearm. What law would have prevented this tragedy?
Labeling it "Gun Show Loophole" is incorrect. You do not have to attend a gun show to make a private purchase. The uninformed here think that if you make a purchase at a gun show, you are somehow legally circumventing a process.
Thats right. Gun-control didnt work at all in this case.
Well, there's mixed reports whether he was dishonourably discharged or whether he had a BCD (which might not show on NICS). That's one problem already - is the systems aren't sharing information. But he apparently bought his rifle at a big Outdoor store (I'm not familiar - but imagining that it's similar to a Cabela or Bass Pro.) That is part of the problem. He might have bought it from a part-time worker who was barely trained. That's why I said, above, that in my opinion, you should only be able to buy a gun from a licensed dealer (and by that I mean a gun store as opposed to a store that sells tents, paddles, smokers, BBQ's, etc). Selling a gun shouldn't be one line amongst many revenue sources for a store. A gun department manager shouldn't have to worry that he's being out-sold by Barbecues. It's too important to be done on a casual basis. And that WON'T affect your 2nd amendment rights.
But they all do a good job of praying for and having their thoughts go to the victims and their families. That is very helpful.
The Las Vegas shooter had a girlfriend, so maybe not.
With a private sale, you would need to advertise it, arrange a place to meet, etc. If you're a buyer, you might have to go to several different addresses before you find what you want. In function, a gun show is like a giant dealer - except it's a gathering of individuals. So you're correct - in that it's legally no different than a private sale. Which are LEGAL (not illegal). So perhaps it should be called the "private sale" loophole. As I've stated (several times) - I think private sales should be banned and that all secondary market sales should be conducted via licensed dealers.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/2/16399418/us-gun-violence-statistics-maps-charts
At the very least, this will prompt some examination about what went wrong and why NICS didn't know about his discharge. Of course (still don't know the answer to this) - there's talk that because it was classed as a "Bad Conduct Discharge" it didn't disqualify him - BUT his jail-time should have. So the reporting system is fucked up. I also thought I saw something about his application being filled out incorrectly (and maybe the clerk at the Sporting Goods Store didn't think to question it). Again, I think one problem is that buying a gun at a big box or mega store is too easy (in the sense that there is no real intimidation factor). You're dealing with a smiling general salesperson vs a guy packing a Glock on his hip. Going into a gunshop is far more "intimidating" than going to Walmart, or BassPro. That's a good thing because it might discourage some people (eg: cowardly psycho's). Buying a gun shouldn't be as easy as buying a pair of jeans. And that WON'T take away any 2nd Amendment rights.
