Arizona gun dealers still selling semiautomatic weapons to buyers without background checksBY Adam Lisberg
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
The Tucson massacre that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six others did not stop Arizona gun dealers from selling high-powered semiautomatics last week to buyers who said they couldn't pass background checks.
The sales were captured on undercover video by private detectives working for Mayor Bloomberg's crusade against illegal guns. The detectives went to the Crossroads of the West gun show in Phoenix on Jan.23 to expose the deadly loopholes in America's gun background check system.
The investigators bought Sig Sauer and Smith & Wesson 9-mm. semiautomatics with high-capacity magazines, even after telling the gun dealers they "probably couldn't pass" a background check. Gun shows are exempt from background checks, but vendors can't legally sell to anyone they think is prohibited from buying them.
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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/01/30/2011-01-30_arizona_gun_dealers_still_selling_semiautomatic_weapons_to_buyers_without_backgr.htmlComments at link
Another report
New York City Investigates Arizona Gun ShowBy MARC LACEY
Published: January 30, 2011
PHOENIX — Weeks after a shooting left six dead and 13 injured in Tucson, New York City sent undercover investigators to an Arizona gun show and found instances in which private sellers sold semiautomatic pistols even after buyers said they probably could not pass background checks, city officials said.
The investigation, part of an effort by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration to crack down on illegal gun sales nationwide, took place Jan. 23 at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Phoenix, officials said.
“The background check system failed in Arizona, it failed in Virginia and it fails in states around the country,” said John Feinblatt, an adviser to Mr. Bloomberg. “If we don’t fix it now, the question is not whether another massacre will occur, but when.”
Private, unlicensed sellers are not required to run federal background checks, but it is a violation of federal law to sell guns to people if sellers suspect they are felons or mentally ill or are otherwise prohibited from buying. In the case of Jared L. Loughner, who is accused of opening fire on the crowd in Tucson on Jan. 8, the gun used in the shootings was bought at a licensed gun dealer, and he passed a background check, the authorities said.
In two instances, the New York undercover officers specifically said before buying a gun, “I probably couldn’t pass a background check,” but were still sold guns, city officials said.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/us/31guns.html?_r=1&hp