The parents of a murdered Portland woman have joined forces with the Maine Secretary of State’s office and state chapter of Michael Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action to propose a bill that would allegedly close Maine’s so-called “gun show loophole,” requiring background checks on anyone purchasing firearms at gun shows or from private sellers.
Under the bill, person-to-person transactions would have to be completed with a registered gun dealer who can run a background check through the federal system. However, family members would be exempt and hunters would be allowed to loan firearms as long as the owner is present, or if a gun transfer was necessary “to prevent imminent death or prevent great bodily harm”—a slippery slope indeed.
Sadly, fixing a manufactured “gun show loophole problem” will likely do nothing to prevent future senseless killings. Criminals always find a way to get guns, and universal background checks only infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
