Earlier this week we had a diary on the rec list for a couple of days about how tradMed covers - or rather doesn't cover, or barely covers - shooting sprees in the US while these are covered by international media outside of our Country. h/t docterry
Imagine my shock reading Yahoo News this morning and they actually are covering how easy it is to buy guns for people in Chicago (and anyone on the internet for that matter).
In fact, the Lake Michigan region, including Chicago and Milwaukee, was among the most active territories for ArmsList.com sellers and buyers during the period Yahoo News studied. In the past four months, at least 1,300 handguns were advertised for sale or trade within 150 miles of Chicago, where there have been more than 100 homicides already in 2013. There were 1,700 rifles advertised as well. Over 400 people in this same radius posted wanted ads for handguns.
The chart is pretty informative
Screen capture from Yahoo News article
I rarely agree with "news people" on Yahoo News, but this conclusion is very telling (emphasis mine):
At the present time, the odds that Congress will pass any sort of expansion on background checks for online gun purchases, much less a ban on assault weapons, appear very long. Barring such an action, sites like ArmsList.com are free to operate with the freedom of a gun show and the namelessness of the Internet.
The article continues:
It is far from clear that there is any causal chain between ArmsList.com activity and violent crime beyond the two murders linked to the site—or that ArmsList.com is any more culpable for selling weapons linked to murders than any of the other means by which criminals can buy a gun. That question is quite literally on trial in Cook County, Ill., Circuit Court, where the family of Smirnov’s victim is now suing ArmsList.com, alleging that the site facilitates unlawful interstate gun sales because it has "designed its site to not require the input of any verifiable identification by buyers or sellers, such as a driver’s license number, to demonstrate residency in a particular state." The case is ongoing.
Talking about FFLs (federal firearms license), I could not find any license for Armslist.com as an FFL, or for the guy named Dixon that has made thousands of dollars in profits selling on this site. I did find out that searching the
ATF's listings of FFLs mostly redirects you to a page that starts with this message:
We are sorry, but the page you requested wasn’t found at this location.
Coincidence? Perhaps. (BTW I am sure that some will jump on this diary and scream about every single sale having to go through an FFL, but I would like to see if they have any proof that
ALL sales on Armslist.com are shipped to and transferred by an FFL, with the required background check - you know, we are a reality based community, right? Perhaps those that feel offended by my diary will feel happier, and more at home, in the comments section of the Yahoo article.)
I mean, how could Yahoo News be correct? They called the AR-15 evil and "incorrect" names!
The AR-15 is an extremely potent assault weapon similar to the M16, the rifle widely used by the U.S. military. It comes in many varieties and names, including the Bushmaster XM15, one of the weapons that Newtown, Conn., shooter Adam Lanza used, and the Smith & Wesson M&P15, favored by Aurora, Colo., gunman James E. Holmes.
The AR-15 is not merely the preferred firearm of mass murderers. It is by far the most popular gun sold on ArmsList.com as well.
Never mind that Yahoo News is re-hashing (and even provide a link to) last month's
NYT article on Armslist.com*, now we know that tradMed is indeed starting to cover the fact that firearms regulation in our Country are completely out of whack (at least a little).
* with a conclusion saying that the fact that in spite of all disclaimers saying that buyers and sellers must meet all federal/state/local regulations, the anonymity (as well as Armlist.com's stated clarification that the site “does not become involved in transactions between parties”) essentially allows sales without any effective regulation (my paraphrasing).
Will they give this carnage the coverage that Benghazi got? Not even close, but if they even remotely start reporting how many people get shot every year the debate will change rapidly:
Chart of data with trend lines
Table with data