GOP lawmaker blames Clinton
for gun show 'loophole'
Rules forced dealers to sell wares elsewhere
By Lynn Bartels
Denver Rocky Mountain News Capitol Bureau
The number of licensed firearms dealers has declined by
nearly two-thirds since President Clinton took office in 1993,
and the drop in Colorado is sharper.
That's forced former dealers to sell weapons at gun shows
where they don't have to do background checks on their
customers, say some Republican legislators who accuse
Clinton of creating the "loophole" he wants voters to close.
"This pattern of hypocrisy once again shows that the
president who talks so much about closing the gun show
loophole is the one who created the gun show loophole," said
Sen. Mark Hillman, R-Burlington.
Records from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
show the number of licensed firearms dealers nationally
plunged from more than 280,000 to 100,000 during Clinton's
presidency.
Colorado lists 1,862 licensed gun dealers, down from 5,011
in 1993, said Dave McCombs, the bureau's area director for
Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
The number of dealers increased slightly from two years ago
because of a renewed interest in antique weapons, McCombs
said. Those 239 license holders can only deal in weapons
that are at least 50 years old.
The national drop in licensed dealers coincides with the
passage of the Brady Act in 1993, which took effect in
February 1994.
The law requires criminal background checks on anyone
buying a handgun from a licensed dealer. For some
businessmen, the paperwork and red tape was too much, gun
officials have said.
But many people who had obtained a license just wanted to
be able to buy a gun wholesale, said McCombs.
With Brady, the financial incentive of getting a license was
gone. The cost of a license jumped from $30 every three
years to a $200 initial fee with a $90 renewal fee every three
years.
Colorado lawmakers, including Hillman, Sen. Ken Arnold of Westminster and Reps. Shawn
Mitchell of Broomfield, Rob Fairbank of Littleton and Debbie Allen of Aurora, cited a federal
regulation that says a licensed dealer must have a permanent business address.
"If you don't have a store, it's very difficult to keep a license," Mitchell said.
Brady requires that dealers be in compliance with local zoning regulations, which prevents
some gun sellers from operating out of their homes, McCombs said.
Denver, Littleton and Colorado Springs do not allow retail sales of any kind out of a home but
Broomfield and Golden do, he said.
