Ignorant of the law?

Re the “Don’t forget us, Gabby” editorial: No, sirs (or madams), Arkansas is not chopped liver. But your editorial staff may be.

I believe your editorial demonstrated gross ignorance of the law regarding background checks. Your editors wrote: “But for online sales, or sales at those gun shows that seem to pop up along interstates every few months, no background checks are required.”

This is untrue. No one can just go online and buy a gun without a background check. When you buy a gun online, you have to have it shipped to a dealer with a federal firearms license, and go through the standard background check when you pick it up. As for gun shows, any gun bought from a licensed dealer at a gun show must also undergo a background check.

The only sales at gun shows that do not require background checks are private transactions. These are just individuals who meet at the gun show, much like individuals meet at a hamfest or other types of swap meets.

This is not a loophole. It is simply a type of commerce that is presently unregulated.

Perhaps you wish to regulate these, too. But before we have a conversation about that, make sure you know what you are talking about first. Because I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and just assume you were showing ignorance here.

The alternative, that you knew it wasn’t true, well, I just do not want to believe this. BASIL L. COPELAND JR.

Maumelle