I attended a gun show yesterday and an older gentleman was asking a vendor if he could buy a handgun without a purchase permit or concealed carry permit. The person behind the table was young, obviously a teen belonging to the mom and dad who were the actual vendors and busy with other customers.
I was standing next to him and seeing the confused look on the kid's face I explained there isn't a gun show loop hole, particularly when it comes to handguns in North Carolina. I explained it's just media hype and disinformation.
I explained that an FFL has to run a back ground check for all firearms purchases, and in NC a purchase permit or concealed carry permit is required to buy a handgun.
I stated that universal background checks are also already the way it works for handguns in NC. State law requires that a private seller, or someone settling an state must obtain and keep a copy of the buyer's concealed carry permit or get and keep the original purchase permit from the buyer.
He then stated he has never owned a handgun before but was looking to purchase one given the downward spiral in civility and the rising crime rates.
I spent about 10 minutes talking about different operating systems and showing him the differences between revolvers, DA/SA pistols, SA pistols and striker fired pistols. I also discussed with him how those differences can be important depending on what you plan to do with the handgun and if you intend to conceal carry it, how you plan to carry the handgun and related holster and safety considerations.
I also talked about where he could obtain training and also rent handguns to try before he buys.
He then made a comment that he was surprised as 95% of the people at the gun show didn't look like the people the media portrays as gun owners - they looked like normal people.
Then he asked me why there has been an in increase in mass shootings.
My answer was that it isn't the guns or the mainstream gun owner community. I noted that we are seeing an increase in suicides and drug over doses in addition to an increase in mass shootings. I pointed out the commonality between them is that they are all what are referred to as "deaths of despair". The causes of all three lie in the poor state of the economy, lack of opportunity in education and livable wage/family supporting wage jobs, rising rent and mortgage rates, high costs of medical care and the lack of any effective safety net. That creates despair that leads to suicides, drug abuse and violence as people become disconnected and have little or nothing to lose.
I pointed out that neither party is very interested in addressing those underlying issues. On side wants to avoid the hard problems and complex solutions and just go after the guns. The other side is still more interested in derivative income and return on investment than creating incentives to keep and bring good paying jobs back to the US and reinvest excess earnings in productions, infrastructure, R&D, skilled labor, etc rather than taking them as profits for investors.
I also advised that three is a very small minority of gun owners who will do things like post a picture of themselves on social media with tactical gear and a military styled semi auto rifle along with a quote like "I'm ready to use my gun to fight for <insert favorite right or conspiracy theory here>".
I added 90% of those right wing fringe gun owners making those kinds of posts are just posturing and don't actually mean it, but they have a big social media microphone and make the rest of us look like ignorant and or irresponsible, radicals. It feeds the anti gun frenzy.
But I said for a small percentage of (usually but not always) young, impressionable, males who feel disconnected and disempowered, seeing those kinds of social media posts causes them to identify with those gun owners who (ironically enough as that isn not their intent) present themselves as victims, but victims with guns that give them power over others. Mr. Crazy, meet Mr. Gun. it's a match made in social media heaven. Unfortunately, a much smaller percentage of those disempowered folks actually make plans and then act on those plans in the form of a suicide by mass shooting. The see it as a way go out as someone who is both infamous and for one brief moment has power and control over others.
—-
At another table with a private seller, someone asked him if he had to run a background check. He said "yes", and the guy obviously walked away. I commented "if he has to ask the answer is always 'yes' ". He was downsizing his personal collection and he commented he won't sell to someone, even a long gun, unless they have a purchase permit or a concealed carry permit. He keeps photo copies of the carry permit and also keeps a copy pistol purchase permit rather than the original if it's a long gun.
No gun show loophole there either.
I was standing next to him and seeing the confused look on the kid's face I explained there isn't a gun show loop hole, particularly when it comes to handguns in North Carolina. I explained it's just media hype and disinformation.
I explained that an FFL has to run a back ground check for all firearms purchases, and in NC a purchase permit or concealed carry permit is required to buy a handgun.
I stated that universal background checks are also already the way it works for handguns in NC. State law requires that a private seller, or someone settling an state must obtain and keep a copy of the buyer's concealed carry permit or get and keep the original purchase permit from the buyer.
He then stated he has never owned a handgun before but was looking to purchase one given the downward spiral in civility and the rising crime rates.
I spent about 10 minutes talking about different operating systems and showing him the differences between revolvers, DA/SA pistols, SA pistols and striker fired pistols. I also discussed with him how those differences can be important depending on what you plan to do with the handgun and if you intend to conceal carry it, how you plan to carry the handgun and related holster and safety considerations.
I also talked about where he could obtain training and also rent handguns to try before he buys.
He then made a comment that he was surprised as 95% of the people at the gun show didn't look like the people the media portrays as gun owners - they looked like normal people.
Then he asked me why there has been an in increase in mass shootings.
My answer was that it isn't the guns or the mainstream gun owner community. I noted that we are seeing an increase in suicides and drug over doses in addition to an increase in mass shootings. I pointed out the commonality between them is that they are all what are referred to as "deaths of despair". The causes of all three lie in the poor state of the economy, lack of opportunity in education and livable wage/family supporting wage jobs, rising rent and mortgage rates, high costs of medical care and the lack of any effective safety net. That creates despair that leads to suicides, drug abuse and violence as people become disconnected and have little or nothing to lose.
I pointed out that neither party is very interested in addressing those underlying issues. On side wants to avoid the hard problems and complex solutions and just go after the guns. The other side is still more interested in derivative income and return on investment than creating incentives to keep and bring good paying jobs back to the US and reinvest excess earnings in productions, infrastructure, R&D, skilled labor, etc rather than taking them as profits for investors.
I also advised that three is a very small minority of gun owners who will do things like post a picture of themselves on social media with tactical gear and a military styled semi auto rifle along with a quote like "I'm ready to use my gun to fight for <insert favorite right or conspiracy theory here>".
I added 90% of those right wing fringe gun owners making those kinds of posts are just posturing and don't actually mean it, but they have a big social media microphone and make the rest of us look like ignorant and or irresponsible, radicals. It feeds the anti gun frenzy.
But I said for a small percentage of (usually but not always) young, impressionable, males who feel disconnected and disempowered, seeing those kinds of social media posts causes them to identify with those gun owners who (ironically enough as that isn not their intent) present themselves as victims, but victims with guns that give them power over others. Mr. Crazy, meet Mr. Gun. it's a match made in social media heaven. Unfortunately, a much smaller percentage of those disempowered folks actually make plans and then act on those plans in the form of a suicide by mass shooting. The see it as a way go out as someone who is both infamous and for one brief moment has power and control over others.
—-
At another table with a private seller, someone asked him if he had to run a background check. He said "yes", and the guy obviously walked away. I commented "if he has to ask the answer is always 'yes' ". He was downsizing his personal collection and he commented he won't sell to someone, even a long gun, unless they have a purchase permit or a concealed carry permit. He keeps photo copies of the carry permit and also keeps a copy pistol purchase permit rather than the original if it's a long gun.
No gun show loophole there either.
