Orange County must consider gun loophole

Under federal law, fugitives and felons aren’t supposed to be able to buy guns.

Nor should domestic-violence offenders, undocumented citizens or people who have been locked up for mental health problems.

But all of those folks can … with ease.

All they have to do is bypass the reputable gun stores and dealers — who are required to run background checks — and visit a gun show, website or any other place where “private” sellers don’t have to do the same.

That’s how millions of gun sales — between 10 and 20 percent — take place these days.

“Think of it like a terrorist at an airport who sees two lines to get on the plane,” said Kris Brown, the co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “One sign says: If you want to go through security, go here. The other says: If you don’t want to go through security, go here.

“Where do you think most terrorists would choose to go?”

That’s why Orange County is considering following other major counties in Florida in closing this loophole.

On Tuesday, commissioners are slated to consider an ordinance that would require background checks for almost all sales — basically any sale conducted on property where the public has “right of access.” (That means flea markets, gun shows, shopping centers and more, but not private residences.) It would also impose the statemandated three-day waiting period on such sales.

Why is this needed? Because, said Mayor Teresa Jacobs, the current loophole “just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Nor does it make sense to almost all law-abiding citizens.

Virtually every survey shows overwhelming support for universal background checks — 80 percent, 90 percent, even 97 percent, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.

You’d have trouble getting 97 percent of Americans to agree that water is wet.

The support crosses all demographics — Republicans, Democrats, whites, blacks, Southerners, Northerners, even gun owners.

“This is not a controversial issue,” said Patti Brigham, president of the Florida League of Women Voters. “It may be controversial to the NRA — but not to most Americans.”

Well, not just the NRA. Opponents of universal background checks also include gang-bangers, convicted felons and gutless politicians.

That’s quite a team. Sort of the anti-Avengers.

But that team can be loud. Some scream: A new law won’t stop all shootings or criminals!

Well, no shot, Sherlock. You’re refuting an argument nobody made.

We don’t pass laws because we believe they stop every crime. We pass them to try to dissuade criminals — and to give law enforce-

ment a way to punish offenders.

If you’re opposed to laws that don’t actually eradicate crimes, you might as well favor decriminalizing murder and rape.

Some also note that most gun-show vendors are upstanding, licensed dealers who follow the law. Absolutely. So this shouldn’t be an imposition for them.

Brown of the Brady Campaign said that one of the major problems with existing laws is that they were created decades ago — before internet and gunshow sales were so prevalent.

Today, anyone can visit a website, choose to browse through “private party” transactions — and find easy access to a “barely used AR-15” for $600 or a Sig Sauer MPX with a 30-round magazine for $2,100. No background check needed.

The county’s ordinance won’t do much to crack down on that, which is why universal background checks should really be a national policy.

But since members of Congress and the Legislature have refused to act, local leaders are taking action themselves.

The county’s proposal still isn’t airtight. Aside from being tough to enforce online sales, it also allows a state exemption for people who have concealed-carry permits — even though Florida has a history of allowing felons to have those permits as well.

But when Allison Anderman, an attorney with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, studied Orange County’s proposal, she said: “I think they are doing all they can.”

We’ll see what happens Tuesday. The NRA has tried to wield influence in local elections, most notably endorsing Commissioner Betsy VanderLey in the last election cycle.

But if VanderLey and her peers listen to the vast majority of their constituents (contact information for commissioners is at orangecountyfl.net), this issue is an easy one.

If they want to make it harder for criminals, fugitives and terrorists to get guns, they’ll support the measure.

If they don’t, they’ll spend a lot of time explaining why during their next campaign. smaxwell@ orlandosentinel.com