“A clerk [at the Hub pawn shop] who spoke to the trio said the hair on the back of his neck went up after talking with them, putting him and another clerk assisting him on high alert that something about them was amiss,” wmicentral.com reports. “The clerk said it was nothing he could put his finger on, but after years of dealing in gun sales to the public, the clerk said the three stood out as people the store should avoid doing business with.”
And so they didn’t. Did that stop a cop killer from shooting and killing a cop? It did not. “Shortly after the trio left The Hub, Officer Darrin Reed (above) responded to the drug call at the hotel where he was shot once in the head by Erickson. Reed later died at Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center. It is unclear how Erickson was able to obtain a weapon.”
I’m thinking the answer to how Ericsson obtained his weapon is . . . “easily.” Whether that was by stealing one, finding a less suspicious gun store to facilitate a straw purchase or buying a firearm on the black market. In a nation where firearms outnumber citizens, where there’s there’s a will there’s a gun.
The story highlights the fact that most Americans like the idea of a federal background check for gun sales. So much so that nearly a dozen states require background checks for all firearms sales and transfers, including private transfers. Is there any scientific evidence tying increased background checks to reduced crime? No. No there isn’t.
I reckon all background checks are nothing more than security theater. Not to mention an infringement on Americans’ Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.
My belief that they should be eliminated makes me a “gun rights extremist.” You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one. Regardless of the chances of it happening — somewhere between none and none — do you think all background checks for gun sales and transfers should be eliminated?