As reported by NRA-ILA over the weekend, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has become the latest in a long line of gun-control advocates to parrot the 40-percent lie—the claim that somehow a large percentage of gun sales illegally or unfairly skirt background checks—and pay a political price for it.
The assertion is that some huge “loophole” exists in federal law, because 40 percent of sales or transfers are not covered by the federal background check requirement that applies to retail dealer sales. The structure of the current law is not a “loophole,” however. It's intentionally designed to separate casual, private conduct by law-abiding people from commercial activity.
McAuliffe and billionaire gun-ban buddy Michael Bloomberg learned what effect lying about guns can have last Tuesday, when NRA-endorsed candidates won 92 percent of their races in Virginia and Republicans retained control of the state Senate. Incidentally, as NRA-ILA points out, the 40-percent lie has been debunked numerous times, including here, here, here, here and here.
