UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATORS have exposed the ease with which high-powered guns can be bought in the US by purchasing the same type of pistol used in the Tucson massacre just two weeks later in a neighbouring city – with no questions asked.
New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, sent undercover agents to the Crossroads of the West gun show in Phoenix, Arizona, where they managed to buy a Glock 9mm pistol of the kind used by Jared Loughner to kill six people and wound 13 at a public meeting on January 6th.
They bought a Glock 17 gun for $480 and other guns. No questions were asked other than showing an ID card.
A “gun show loophole” allows occasional gun sellers to sell weapons without carrying out a background check. Such “private” sales are responsible for 40 per cent of all gun sales in the US.
The investigation confirmed other surveys showing vendors willing to sell guns to people who themselves admitted they probably wouldn't pass a background check. – ( Guardianservice)