Clinton Vows to Crack Down on Gun Show Purchases

President Clinton on Saturday set into motion a tightening of the Brady law aimed at stopping 5,000 gun shows around the nation from becoming “illegal arms bazaars” for criminals and gunrunners.

“We are one step closer to shutting them down,” Clinton declared in his weekly radio address. He ordered the Treasury and Justice departments to recommend executive actions within 60 days that will close a loophole in the Brady gun control law.

The government estimates that 5 million people a year attend gun shows.

The Brady law requirement for five-day waiting periods and background checks does not apply to gun show purchases.

Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative last week to let counties require background checks or impose five-day waiting periods for the purchase of firearms at gun shows. The federal government should also follow suit and require an “Insta-Check” of the buyer’s criminal history, Clinton said.

“I believe this should be the law of the land: No background check, no gun, no exceptions.”

In concert with the president’s announcement, Sarah Brady of Handgun Control Inc. issued a statement applauding his action but also pushing for waiting periods to apply to gun show sales. Brady is the wife of former White House Press Secretary James S. Brady, who was wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt on former President Reagan.

“The past five years have demonstrated the importance of observing waiting periods and doing background checks at gun stores,” Sarah Brady said. “But we now need to extend the Brady law to include all gun sales occurring at gun shows and flea markets.”

Clinton noted that gun shows are popular in his home state of Arkansas, where he traveled Friday after taping his radio address at the White House. “I have visited and enjoyed them over the years,” he said. “They’re often the first place parents teach their children how to handle firearms safely.

“But at too many gun shows, a different, dangerous trend is emerging. Some of these gun shows have become illegal arms bazaars for criminals and gun traffickers to buy and sell guns on a cash-and-carry, no-questions-asked basis.”

Sarah Brady said several Florida counties are expected to pass ordinances regulating gun show sales.

On Nov. 30, the Justice Department is to implement the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which will give law enforcement officials access to a wider array of records than is now available.