As one report explains, “Dealers were allowed to exhibit at gun shows, but actual sales had to be consummated at their place of business.” 13įollowing the adoption of an ATF regulation that allowed licensed dealers to temporarily operate at gun shows in 1984, Congress passed the so-called Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA) in 1986. The explosion of gun shows nationwide is a relatively recent phenomenon that experts attribute to changes in federal law in the mid-1980s. From the adoption of the Gun Control Act of 1968 until 1984, in fact, licensed dealers were prohibited from completing the transfer of guns at gun shows. As described above and in our summary on Universal Background Checks, unlicensed sellers are not required to conduct background checks on purchasers or maintain records of sales under federal law (and in a majority of US states that have failed to close this dangerous loophole). However, people who are not federally licensed firearms dealers are also permitted to sell and transfer firearms at gun shows. 11 Dealers must conduct background checks on prospective purchasers and maintain sales records of transactions at gun shows. 9įederal law defines “gun show” as a “function sponsored by any national, state, or local organization, devoted to the collection, competitive use, or other sporting use of firearms, or an organization or association that sponsors functions devoted to the collection, competitive use, or other sporting use of firearms in the community.” 10 A federally licensed firearms dealer may conduct business at a gun show or event located in the same state specified on the license. 8 These results suggest that California’s gun show regulations may help to deter illicit firearm use. By contrast, researchers measured no increase in gun deaths or injuries following gun shows in California, where there are multiple laws that govern gun show sales. One study measured an increase in firearm deaths and injuries in California communities within convenient driving distance of Nevada gun shows, a state where there are no explicit regulations on gun shows.Data from the ATF suggests that gun shows supply a high volume of firearms to the illegal gun market.Studies indicate that guns purchased in states with weak gun show regulations are particularly likely to be used in crime. Unsurprisingly, then, guns purchased at gun shows are disproportionately used in criminal activity. 6īecause most gun shows are unregulated, they have become an attractive source of weapons for people looking to circumvent background checks and other gun safety laws. For instance, one study found that straw purchases were significantly more common at gun shows in states with little regulation (Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Texas) than at gun shows in California, which regulates gun shows and requires background checks for all firearm transfers there. Importantly, studies suggest that gun show regulations can deter illegal sales.An experimental study of gun shows found sellers willing to participate in transactions that they clearly believed were straw purchases.ATF investigations at gun shows have resulted in arrests for many serious offenses, including straw purchases, sales of firearms to people convicted of felonies, and possession of prohibited firearms like machine guns and sawed-off shotguns.Many of the gun transfers that take place at gun shows do not involve a background check, making straw purchases and illegal gun sales extremely common there. 1 Firearm purchases from gun shows account for an estimated 4% to 9% of annual firearm sales, 2 and 3% of gun owners report acquiring their most recent firearm from a gun show. Thousands of people attend the more than 4,000 gun shows held in the United States each year. Often held at public venues like fairgrounds or civic centers, gun shows operate as temporary, largely unregulated markets for gun sales. Gun shows are events dedicated to the display and sale of firearms and firearm-related accessories. Matthew Miller, Lisa Hepburn & Deborah Azrael, “Firearm Acquisition Without Background Checks,” Annals of Internal Medicine 166, no.
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