Rep. Gary Ackerman is hopeful that the memory of the tragic gunshots in Tucson resonate loudly enough on Capitol Hill to enable serious consideration of his bill to bar gun dealers who’ve lost their licenses from selling firearms to people without background checks.
Ackerman (D-Great Neck) said he had planned to reintroduce his legislation, the Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act, to close the ex-gun dealer loophole during the new Congressional session after it failed to gain support when he introduced a year ago. But he now hopes the Tucson shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords hits close enough to home to motivate some of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support his bill.
“It seems to make a heck of a lot more sense because it’s very timely,” Ackerman said. “At this particular time in this society, we seem to be at the wedding of the mentally ill to the gun culture. And the band at the wedding is playing very troubling mood music. This legislation makes strong absolute common sense no matter what your interpretation of the second amendment might be.”
As it stands, the so-called “fire sale loophole” enables gun dealers who have lost their licenses to sell firearms to convert their inventory into a “personal collection” of guns which they can sell to anyone with no restrictions – either FBI background checks or maintaining records of their sales.
Ackerman acknowledges that the Republicans now in the majority in the House of Representatives count members of the National Rifle Association among their core constituencies. But he thinks the logic of his legislation could still be politically attractive to his colleagues across the aisle.
“If they want to look reasonable, this certainly is one of the more reasonable bills that are out there,” Ackerman said.
But he said he was still “skeptical” because he is well aware that NRA members resist regulation at gun shows.
Ackerman said he plans to write letters soliciting support among all of his colleagues in the House by the end of this week, but concedes the future of the legislation is largely up to the majority party.
He noted that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and leading gun control organizations, including Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, have endorsed the legislation.
“We need common-sense, effective policies to close gaps in the background check system and keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
Ackerman said he is willing to co-sponsor legislation recently introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) that would make it illegal to sell oversized ammunition clips for semi-automatic handguns of the type that the shooter in the recent Tucson incident had used.
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204
