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Virginia Gun Shows On Video: No Background Check, No ID, No Questions
Jan 27, 2010
VIRGINIA MILLION MOM MARCH CHAPTERS OF THE BRADY CAMPAIGN
PROTESTEASYGUNS.COM
THE VIRGINIA CENTER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
ANGEL FUND
CONTACT: Andy Goddard of MMM-VA at 804-240-5614 or info@mmmrichmondva.org
Lori Haas at 804-399-4893 or clewthaas@comcast.net
Peter Hamm of the Brady Campaign at 202-289-5792 or phamm@bradymail.org
Richmond, VA - As a Virginia Senate committee prepares to hold hearings on a bill to close the gun show loophole in the state, a coalition of gun violence prevention groups released a video compilation of firearm purchases at Virginia gun shows completed without Brady criminal background checks. The videos show how easy it is for anyone to obtain firearms at gun shows in Virginia.
Senator Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) has introduced S 595, a bill that would close the gun show loophole. It is to be discussed by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee soon.
Virginia Tech survivor Colin Goddard attended a gun show in Richmond last summer with fellow Virginia Tech survivor Lily Habtu, a gun show in Northern Virginia in late summer with another friend, and a gun show in Virginia Beach in early January with another friend, and purchased guns at all three shows without submitting to a Brady check. In Virginia Beach, Goddard purchased an AKS-74 semiautomatic assault rifle with a folding stock and a 30-round ammunition magazine for $600, with no background check. He filmed all the transactions with a hidden camera.
To watch the videos, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASjfzG4mpyU
“An overwhelming number of Virginians support closing the gun show loophole. Virginia politicians should listen to their constituents and close the gun show loophole now,” said Lori Haas, who along with 62 family members and 11 survivors of the Virginia Tech Massacre all support legislation to require background checks on all purchasers at gun shows, also one of the remaining few recommendations from the governor's panel report that has not been implemented.
“Colin’s videos makes it clear that anyone in Virginia can obtain guns at gun shows without having to undergo a background check,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “The most dangerous people in our communities, prohibited by law from purchasing guns from federally licensed gun dealers, shouldn’t be able to get around those laws by buying them from non-licensed gun sellers at gun shows.”
“Requiring background checks on all sales at gun shows is, quite simply, a public safety issue. We need to stop the next tragedy that happens when guns get into the wrong hands,” said Richmond Million Mom March President Andy Goddard, Colin’s father. “I want to stop the next parent from having to sit in a hospital room and watch their son bleed.”
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The Virginia Center for Public Safety (formerly known as Virginians Against Handgun Violence) is a statewide organization that was founded in 1992 after a young person was shot outside a school in Hampton Roads. The organization seeks to create a safer Virginia through education, public forums, youth outreach, and work in the public policy arena. VACPS believes that a chief cause of gun violence is the easy access that criminals and youth have to guns in the state.
ProtestEasyGuns.com is a grassroots protest movement of Americans that emerged in response to the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history at Virginia Tech. We are outraged at how easy it is to obtain a gun in the United States and believe it is time to change lax laws that allow criminals and dangerous individuals easy access to guns. Each of the movement’s “Lie-In” protests includes 32 individuals (symbolizing the number of students and teachers murdered at Virginia Tech) who lie on the ground for just a few minutes (signifying the brief amount of time it takes to buy a gun in the United States). Our goal is to encourage like-minded citizens to stage their own protests around the country so that we can influence the public discourse and ultimately the legislative process with regard to this critical national problem.
Angel Fund is the family, friends, neighbors and advocates of Reema Samaha, who was tragically killed on April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech by a lone gunman, along with 31 other students and faculty. There were many complex issues that contributed to the Virginia Tech tragedy: mental illness, campus safety and security, lack of information sharing, privacy and gun laws. We would like to address those policies and laws we felt contributed to the tragedy and to seek practical and reasonable solutions to avoid another similar tragedy. We, therefore, would like to honor Reema’s memory by making the world a safer place through education, advocacy and implementing practical solutions.
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As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.
For continuing insight and comment on the gun issue, read Paul Helmke's blog at www.bradycampaign.org/blog/. Visit the Brady Campaign website at www.bradycampaign.org.