GUN CONTROL WATCH : Hot Dog Law

Most people would support the notion that government should make it harder to sell a gun than a hot dog. Yet, until recently in many jurisdictions, it was easier to peddle firearms than frankfurters.

We’re not kidding. Consider Los Angeles, where a hot dog vendor pays more than $500 for the requisite city business, health and licensing fees. Before federal rules for gun dealers were strengthened, anyone who could afford a $30 fee and pass a quick criminal background check could obtain a gun dealer license from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Because of dangerously lax standards, more than a quarter of a million people were able to become firearms dealers and thus could obtain large stocks of weapons on the cheap. Even more of a threat to public safety was the fact that four-fifths of these individuals, the so-called “kitchen-table dealers,” operated out of homes and unsanctioned businesses--all too often unknown to the 220 federal compliance agents as well as state and local law enforcement officials.

Thanks to congressional action last year--which included fee increases (to $200) and a local-compliance requirement that includes fees--gun dealer permits have dropped nationally from 245,628 to 193,924. California experienced the largest drop of any state over the last year--from 20,148 to 15,547.

Still, while the decrease is encouraging, there is far to go. Congress should continue to look for ways to reduce the number of licenses and bring licensing fees into, say, the hot dog ballpark.