Owner: Anti-gun voices unfairly target gun shows
Apr 10, 2013, 11:57 AM
PHOENIX — The calls for background checks by anti-gun proponents are unfairly targeting gun shows, the owner of Crossroads of the West said.
Bob Templeton said gun opponents want people to believe that anybody and everybody walks into gun shows and leaves with firearms, no questions asked and no background check. But it’s untrue.
“Most of the gun sales at the shows are by licensed dealers that are required to do background checks, which they do,” he said.
Templeton said the Justice Department found that less than 1 percent of the guns used in crimes come from gun shows.
“Because of the large law enforcement presence we have at the shows from federal, state and local, the criminals pretty much avoid the gun shows,” he said. “Criminals do not use the system. They have their own channels for getting guns from relatives or buying the firearms on the streets.”
Gun shows have been a longtime target for gun opponents and, according to Templeton, it’s just another excuse for anti-gun politicians to restrict and regulate gun rights and “sadly, they’re trying to capitalize on the Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy in Newtown, Conn.”
Templeton said he doesn’t believe Congress will pass legislation requiring universal background checks.
The next Crossroads show in Phoenix is set for April 20 and April 21 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds.
