Bloomberg Calls Out Web Site That Sells Guns To Criminals
Here in the United Shooting Gallery of America, the combined forces of the gun manufacturing lobby and the greed of some gunmongers has made it easy to create loopholes in laws, including the existence of a web site known as armslist.com:
Want to buy a gun without a background check? Just get on the Internet.
High-volume gun sellers are hawking their deadly wares on classified listing websites that claim to cater to collectors, but are also popular with criminals, Mayor Bloomberg said Thursday.
Bloomberg said private sale websites like Armslist.com — a Craigslist for guns buyers and sellers — have become havens for bad guys looking to illegally buy and sell guns.
A private online seller is considered anyone who makes an occasional gun sale from their private collection. But a study by Mayors Against Illegal Guns found many high volume sellers use these private sale websites so they don’t have to obtain a Federal Firearms License.
And they aren’t hawking antiques, either.An 8-week probe into Armslist.com revealed that many of the weapons sold on the website “are listed as brand new and are sold right out of the box,” the mayor said.
The investigation also showed:
- One out of every 30 people purchasing guns on Armslist.com has a criminal record.
- An estimated 29 percent of the guns sold on Armslist.com are from high-volume sellers who sell more than 34 firearms a year without a Federal Firearms License.
- Investigators found 36,000 guns were purchased on Armslist.com during the 8-week study.
“It’s estimated that 244,000 guns a year in private sales can change hands, no questions asked,” Bloomberg said.=
