THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
PRESIDENT CLINTON:
CLOSING THE LOOPHOLE ON GUN SHOWS
February 6, 1999
Today, President Clinton will release a report from Treasury Secretary Rubin and Attorney General Reno, recommending actions the Administration can take to ensure that firearms sold at gun shows are not exempt from federal firearms laws, including the law requiring background checks. The President will accept their recommendations and also announce an increase of nearly $30 million in his FY 2000 budget to increase investigations and prosecutions of gun law violations, including those occurring at gun shows.
Findings of the Report. In response to a directive by the President last November, the Treasury and Justice Departments reviewed 314 gun show-related investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), mostly between 1997 and 1998. The investigations involved more than 54,000 firearms and spanned a wide range of federal firearms violations. The review found the following:
Number of gun shows. In 1998, there were an estimated 4,442 gun
shows. Most gun shows were sponsored by state and local firearms
collectors organizations, though some shows were promoted by
individual collectors and business people. Ten states sponsored
the most gun shows: TX (472); PA (250); FL (224); IL (203);
CA (188); IN (180); NC (170); OR (160); OH (148); and NV (129).
Typical gun show. The typical gun show costs about $5 to attend
and draws an average of between 2,500 and 5,000 people. Vendors
rent tables for a fee ranging from $5 to $50, and the number of
tables varies from as few as 50 to as many as 2,000.
Federally-licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) make up about 50 to 75
percent of vendors, with unlicensed gun sellers representing the
remaining 25 to 50 percent. Unlicensed gun sellers -- who are
assumed to be selling from their personal collections -- are not
required to conduct background checks or keep records of gun
sales. Large quantities of firearms are also sold in less formal
and smaller public markets, such as flea markets.
Guns sold. The firearms sold at gun shows include new and used
handguns, semiautomatic assault weapons, shotguns, rifles, and
curio and relic firearms (novel and older firearms). Additionally,
vendors often sell large capacity magazines, machine gun parts,
and a wide variety of other paraphernalia (knives, ammunition,
military artifacts, and books).
Forum for illegal sales and trafficking. Gun shows provide a
forum for illegal firearms sales and gun trafficking. Of the 314
gun show investigations reviewed, 46 percent involved the purchase
or sale of firearms by felons, and 34 percent involved the sale of
firearms later used in serious crimes, including homicides. Other
gun law violations observed at gun shows included: the sale of
firearms without a federal gun license (more than 50 percent of
the cases reviewed); the sale of firearms "off the books" --
without conducting a background check or keeping a record (about
20 percent of cases); and the sale or transfer of machine guns in
violation of federal law (20 percent of cases). More than a third
of the investigations involved more than 50 firearms, and at least
one investigation involved up to 10,000 firearms.
The Report's Recommendations. To close the gun-show loophole that
allows countless firearms to be sold on a "no questions asked" basis, the President will endorse all of the report's recommendations and support legislation, to be introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Rod Blagojevich (D-IL), that will make them the law of the land. These recommendations include:
(1) Requiring Brady background checks on all firearms transferred
at gun shows, with the assistance of federally-licensed dealers.
Currently, an estimated 25-50 percent of all firearms sold at gun
shows are not subject to background checks, because they are sold
by an unlicensed seller. The new legislation will require the
participation of licensed dealers in all sales at gun shows, so
that all sales will be subject to the Brady background check
requirement.
(2) Requiring vendors to report information on firearms sold at
gun shows to the ATF. Gun dealers would submit certain
information (e.g., manufacturer, model, serial number) on firearms
transferred at gun shows to ATF's National Tracing Center and
maintain additional information on file to assist in future
firearms tracing requests by law enforcement. These requirements
would ensure that firearms sold at gun shows cannot (as they so
often do now) disappear without a trace.
(3) Requiring gun show promoters to register with the ATF and
notify it of all gun shows. Promoters would have to provide the
time and location of gun shows and a list of vendors; provide
vendors with information about their legal obligations; and
require vendors to acknowledge receipt of this information.
(4) Defining gun shows broadly. These requirements would apply to
any place where 50 or more firearms are offered for sale by at
least two vendors.
(5) Increasing resources to combat the illegal trade of firearms
at gun shows.
New Resources for Firearms Enforcement. Consistent with the
report's findings and recommendations, the President's FY 2000 budget includes over $28 million in new funds to enhance the enforcement of federal firearms laws, including:
$23.8 million for more than 120 new ATF agents to support firearms
investigations, arrest violent criminals and gun traffickers, and
crack down on illegal gun sales.
$5 million for more than 40 additional federal prosecutors to
conduct intensive firearms prosecution projects targeting violent
felons who possess guns, armed drug traffickers, and illegal gun
markets.
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