TN gun laws, or lack thereof, under attack

TN is one of 34 states that don't require background checks for private gun sales

Something didn't seem quite right to Tyler Adams as he talked with the man who wanted to buy a gun from him.

The customer admitted he did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Tennessee.

When Adams probed a bit more and asked if he could pass a background check, the guy was upfront and said no.

Adams did not sell the gun.

That's the way the law is supposed to work for private sellers who, unlike gun dealers, aren't required to conduct background checks.

But critics are skeptical that all private gun sellers would be that responsible, and say, in fact, the government leaves the door wide open for private sellers to sell a gun to anyone who is willing to pay for it and simply look the other way even if they are suspicious about the buyer.

Tennessee is among 34 states that don't require any background checks for private sales of firearms, even if the sale is handled by an online site.

But now, the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns is calling for the federal government to mandate background checks in all gun sales. It's sparked an emotional debate that even divides gun-rights advocates. Opponents decry the idea as an affront to individual freedoms and say citizens should be able to sell private property without government interference.

But supporters argue that guns sales should require more accountability on the part of the seller and the buyer to reduce the chances that a gun will fall into the wrong hands.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who helped organize the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, recently released a report criticizing Tennessee, among other states, for having buyers willing to sell guns to people they knew could not pass a background check.

Sting shows some sell to fishy buyers

The Bloomberg report set out to show just how easy it is for people who aren't supposed to own guns — felons and people convicted of domestic violence, for example — to buy guns through private deals online, said Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

During an undercover investigation, private investigators went online and reached out to sellers like Adams.

How criminals get guns

Little research has been done into how criminals obtain their guns. A 1998 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics surveyed inmates convicted of illegal gun possession and found that more than 35 percent of the guns were given to them by friends or family; about 33 percent of the guns were obtained illegally through break-ins, robberies or drug deals; about 23 percent were obtained from a store, pawnshop, flea market or gun show; and the rest were either borrowed or obtained by some other means.

A patchwork of laws

Gun laws in general are a confusing patchwork of federal, state and even local rules. 

Oregon, Colorado, Illinois and New York require background checks at gun shows, but not other private sales. Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska and North Carolina require state-issued permits to buy handguns. Massachusetts, New Jersey and Hawaii require state-issued permits to purchase any guns. 

Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland require background checks on all handgun sales and California, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., require background checks on all gun sales. 

Laws can even differ from city to city. New York City, for example, doesn't recognize weapons permits issued outside the city, though city permits are recognized elsewhere in the state. 

A Louisville, Tenn., woman, who has a valid Tennessee firearms carry permit, was recently arrested in New York City when she tried to check her gun with a police officer so she could visit the memorial at the World Trade Center site.

For more information on these matters, please call our office at 305 548 5020. 

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