Yesterday, Everytown for ‘Gun Safety’ and Moms Demand, the New York-based organizations funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, released a report in which they claim there were over 14,000 gun ads listed on Armslist.com in New Hampshire. Ads which they claim buyers would not have to get a background check in order to purchase the firearm being sold. Everytown claims that criminals are easily able to purchase firearms in this manner and as such, the draconian background check legislation being heard next week (HB 109), must be passed.
The legislation they are once again pushing has been heard in the New Hampshire House of Representatives three previous times. It is a bill written by a California gun control organization that has failed each and every time because it will actually stop Granite Staters from getting gun safety training all while turning law-abiding citizens into criminals.
If you know anything about Everytown and Moms Demand, you know they have a very long history of lying about firearms but Political Buzz decided to research their claims.
From the press release:
The New Hampshire chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today responded after a yearlong Everytown investigation uncovered nearly 1.2 million ads on Armslist for firearm sales that would not legally require a background check. Those ads included 14,608 ads for guns for sale in New Hampshire.
The report comes as New Hampshire lawmakers consider HB 109, legislation that would require background checks for all commercial gun sales, including sales made at gun show or in response to ads like the ones on Armslist. The bill will have its first hearing on February 13th.
Feel free to check out Armslist for yourself and look up New Hampshire as the location where a firearm is being sold. You ‘might’ see 14 posts, if that, or you may see a lot more, depending upon how you search and what you’re searching for. In order for there to be 14,608 unique ads selling firearms, there would need to be an average of 40 unique posts every single day for the entire year.
Maybe Everytown decided to inflate numbers by including sellers from out-of-state who were willing to ship a firearm to a buyer in New Hampshire? Regardless of their methodology (they don’t explain that in their report but do explain others), they neglect to explain to people what the existing laws are regarding firearm sales .
The problem with the out-of-state sellers being included is they MUST transfer a firearm from a Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer (FFL) in the original state of sale and ship it TO an FFL dealer in New Hampshire where a background check would be conducted. Regular people cannot legally ship firearms across the country, it is against federal law. From the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabaco and Firearms:
Under Federal law, an unlicensed individual is prohibited from transferring a firearm to an individual who does not reside in the State where the transferee resides. Generally, for a person to lawfully transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person who resides out of State, the firearm must be shipped to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) within the recipient’s State of residence.
That wipes out any out-of-state sellers that Everytown has clearly added to their inflated numbers.
Next, Bloomberg’s organizations fail to inform readers that it is against federal law to knowingly sell to a prohibited person, with a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison as a punishment. Of course, it’s also a crime for a prohibited person to attempt to purchase a firearm as well.
It is also a crime in the State of New Hampshire to sell a firearm to a prohibited person:
159:7 Sales to Felons. – No person shall sell, deliver, or otherwise transfer a pistol, revolver or any other firearm, to a person who has been convicted, in any jurisdiction, of a felony. Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class B felony.
If you take a look at the posts on Armslist that are actually located in the State of New Hampshire, you’ll notice a common theme: each seller states that the buyer must have a valid pistol/revolver license and/or be willing to go to an FFL dealer for the transfer.
Here are a few examples from current posts:
-Not interested in “Personalized” handguns. Even trade only. Will contribute $10.00 towards the FFL fee. Will not travel outside the area.
-Must be New Hampshire resident and hold a PRL or you pay the FFL transfer fee.
-This will be an FFL transfer only. New Hampshire sell only.
In case you missed it, the only Granite Staters who can have pistol/revolver licenses are those who are legally able to purchase and possess firearms.
Bloomberg’s organization goes on to make the same ‘gun show loophole’ claims that have been debunked over and over and over again:
No background check is required for sales by unlicensed individuals, who can sell guns to strangers they meet online or at gun shows with no background check, no questions asked, and no verification as to whether the buyer is a convicted criminal, severely mentally ill, or otherwise prohibited from having guns.
Vendors at gun shows, with the exception of antique dealers, are licensed firearms sellers who conduct background checks. Anyone who is in the business of selling firearms, must be licensed to do so by the federal government:
Federal law requires that persons who are engaged in the business of dealing in firearms be licensed by ATF. The penalty for dealing in firearms without a license is up to five years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, or both.
If there is a private sale at a gun show, it has nothing to do with the gun show and is a private sale between two individuals. Again, all state and federal laws apply. A prohibited person is not allowed to purchase a firearm and a seller is not allowed to sell to a prohibited person.
Once again, Bloomberg-funded organizations, Everytown and Moms Demand, embarrass themselves and their supporters by pushing another fraudulent report on firearms. They are pushing this ahead of several gun control hearings coming up on February 13th.
New Hampshire continues to be one of the safest states in the country yet these organizations seek to push draconian gun control measures based on lies. Their gun control does nothing to stop criminals but does everything to hurt law-abiding citizens.
The irony that states with far stricter gun control than New Hampshire have higher violent crime rates seems to be lost on these organizations. Meanwhile, their boss Michael Bloomberg, who has armed security for his own family, continues to pay big money to push legislation that will make it more difficult, or impossible, for law-abiding citizens to protect their own families.
Everytown and Moms Demand don’t support actual gun safety but they do support absolute gun control.
