For what it is worth…

Apart from the possibly anti-competition angle at this show.

People who mis-use guns let some people paint all gun owners as dangerous and threats as a way to “get their way,” which is to take away all guns except for themselves and their armed protection.

Getting their way is what it is all about. Once they do, they can brag about what they have accomplished, and what credit they deserve for their public service.

There are so many other things that are killing many more people that they don’t speak out against or have any concern about, and certainly don’t have solutions for.

I have wondered why the legitimate gun-owning public would not come up with recommendations of their own to help keep guns away from people who should not have them—and we know there are people who should not have them.

I know—“give an inch and lose a yard.” And eventually “lose it all.” Maybe, maybe not.

The private seller has no way to tell if a buyer is a person who should not have a gun. Even if the private seller is allowed to call in a background check, the system does not always contain or “catch” the individual who should not be allowed to buy.

I have suggested to some offices that driver’s licenses and state-issued ID cards carry a “Firearms” disability notice on them for all people who are “supposed” to be in the national database, and people who the state knows “should” be in the database.*

The FFL or the private seller could know immediately that they were not allowed to sell to such a person.**

The private seller could keep a record of whoever they sold to as a way to confirm that they made a legitimate sale if the license did not carry the notification. (The camera on their cell phones would make this easy.) And, if a person with the disability on his license tried to buy a gun the seller could notify authorities and alert them.

Something like this could close the “gun show loophole” and take away some thunder from certain quarters.

That alone would not stop the kinds of incidents that have been happening, but if family and friends jumped in and authorities took the right actions when people with problems are involved—those troubled people could also be denied access to guns.
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*The state of Florida marks driver’s licenses with “Sexual Predator” or something like that for such individuals. So, it would not be a stretch to put “Firearms” on them for felons, etc.

**It would not be unusual for the seller to confirm the ID of a buyer. Heck, I even have a couple of local supermarkets that want to scan my driver’s license when I want to buy a six pack of beer!