Under federal law, licensed firearms dealers are required to conduct criminal background checks on all buyers and maintain records of their transactions. But unlicensed sellers who offer firearms from a "personal collection” are not required to conduct background checks or keep records.
"The unregulated sale of firearms by unlicensed sellers through classified ads in newspapers allows felons, domestic abusers, minors and other persons who are prohibited by law from possessing firearms to buy guns without a criminal background check,” according to The National Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole, a gun control advocacy group.
"We call this the ‘newspaper loophole.’”
Gary Mehalik, director of communications for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told CNSNews.com that the problems he perceives with groups wanting to close this so-called "loophole" extend beyond its Second Amendment implications.
"The mischaracterized 'gun show loophole' is now being called a 'classified gun ad loophole,' and soon, it will be a 'free commerce loophole' because what's being proposed is the cessation of the American way of doing business."
"The fact of the matter is," he continued, "Every day, newspapers carry advertisements for products and services that criminals might misuse," he continued. "They sell 'getaway cars' in the used car section, 'arson tools' in the sports section, whether it be lighters or gasoline or waterproof matches for sportsmen. There's lots of stuff that can be misused."
Three Iowa newspapers recently restricted classified ads for guns: The Hawkeye in Burlington, the Daily Iowegian in Centerville and the Daily Sentinel in Le Mars, bringing the number of Iowa papers that have adopted the policy to eight, according to U.S. Newswire.
The Nebraska City News Press has now closed the "newspaper loophole,” along with four Ohio papers: The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Cincinnati Post, The Delphos Herald and The Ironton Tribune.
Since the campaign was launched in November 2001, at least 26 papers across the country, with a combined circulation of nearly 6 million, have changed their firearms advertising policies.
"We are pleased that the publishers of these newspapers recognize that the classifieds provide opportunities for prohibited purchasers to buy guns without a background check,” said John Johnson, coordinator of the National Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole.
"These publishers have taken reasonable steps to prevent their newspapers from being used as a marketplace for illegal gun purchases.”