Press witnesses lawful commerce; press tries to break law; does story about it
Melissa Meagher, in a piece called Gun Control Gone Wrong:
…the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has connected a number of guns used in crimes to flea markets and gun shows.
Yes, and that number is 1% and 0.7%, respectively. Not exactly astronomical. So, like good little reporters, they set off to engage in legal and illegal activities:
Armed with an undercover camera, the WAFF 48News Investigators sent one of our producers to the Collinsville Flea Market in Dekalb County. In minutes, he was able to buy a 22-caliber handgun.
Our producer asked the dealer, “I don’t have to sign anything, do I?”
The dealer replied, “No.”
Then he asked our producer how old he was. When our producer told him he was 29, the dealer said, “Well, I thought you was old enough. You’re fine. Come back and see me.”
For $200, he walked away with the gun without ever showing an ID or even giving his name.
This was a private transfer and no law was broken. Lawful commerce, nothing more to see here. But then:
Next, with his parent’s permission, we sent in one of our 16-year old employees to a different dealer at the flea market.
The dealer told him he could give a firearm to him for $90, but the teenager told him he had to go back to his car to get the money.
Even though the dealer negotiated a price for a firearm and never asked for ID, we chose not to complete the sale.
While it is illegal under federal law to knowingly sell a firearm to a minor, there is no requirement that private individuals verify age. Unless the seller was willfully selling to a minor, there is no crime. Well, no crime other than the fact that a news agency sent a kid in to break the law. Good thing he did not complete the purchase.
