Federal Investigators: Most Attempts to Illegally Buy Guns Online Fail
Kevin Felts 01.04.18
If one were to listen to the anti-gun propaganda, any gang-banger or felon can get online and buy a firearm. Go to a website that sells guns, enter a credit card, and in a few days the firearm will arrive, no questions asked.
The reality is much different.
During the course of several years, federal agents made 72 attempts to buy firearms online. When the agent told the seller they were barred from owning a gun, the seller cancelled the sale. In some cases, the federal agent was banned from the website.
The only time federal agents were able to make an illegal purchase online was by using the dark web.
From The Washington Times – Most illegal attempts to buy guns online fail.
All 72 undercover attempts to buy guns through readily accessible internet sites failed, though agents did manage to make two buys out of sevens attempts through the more restrictive “dark web,” according to the recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
“Tests … demonstrated that private sellers GAO contacted on gun forums and other classified ads were unwilling to sell a firearm to an individual who appeared to be prohibited from possessing a firearm,” the report said.
Opinion
It is nice to see the firearm community self-policing and refusing to sell to someone who said they could not own a firearm.
Of course gun control groups are quick to discredit the report. From the above link:
But gun control advocates say the threat of illegal online buys is still real, and that agents could have unduly influenced their would-be sellers by making it clear upfront that they were banned in some way from buying guns.
I have no idea how many times I have seen dealers at gun shows refuse to sell to someone. Back in the 1990s, I was at a Houston gun show and saw two young men trying to buy guns from a dealer. This was before the Brady Bill and background checks were not required. The seller did not like how the young men acted, and they were told to leave his table.
After the Brady Bill was passed, I saw a guy in a gun store trying to buy a gun without a background check. The owner of the store ran the guy out. The owner started yelling, “Get out, get out right now!”
The study affirms the majority of gun owners are responsible. We know criminals give law abiding gun owners a bad name.
