Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Texans can continue buying guns online and at gun shows without background checks

Smith & Wesson Revolvers for sale in a gun store in Houston, Texas.  (Getty Images)
By Kevin Krause Dallas Morning News

DALLAS – Millions of gun sales occur in Texas and across the U.S. without background checks – in online marketplaces, on social media, at gun shows and from the trunks of cars in parking lots.

Guns in this black market can be expensive because sellers sometimes know their customers are convicted criminals and therefore mark up their prices.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in an attempt to stop black market gun sales, has written a new rule on when a federal firearms license is needed. The rule took effect May 20, but a federal judge in Amarillo blocked it in Texas on June 11 following a legal challenge.

Authorities say the new rule will close a “private sale loophole,” which refers to an exemption in the law that allows hobbyists and collectors to make occasional sales without needing to obtain a license. Criminals and illicit arms dealers have taken advantage of this loophole for years, officials say, to make money while arming people who cannot legally buy a gun.

Some states have closed the loophole by requiring background checks for all gun sales. Texas is not one of them.

Gun shows account for just 9% of gun sales, according to Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. But the events are still a popular place for criminals to acquire guns, according to federal authorities and local case files.

A 2022 study published in the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development looked at more than 20,600 gun shows held in the U.S. between 2011 and 2019. The study found that three out of every 10 of them occurred in just five states – Texas, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana.

Experts say online marketplaces account for the vast majority of unregulated private sales – under the cloak of anonymity. Online gun classifieds sites such as Armslist.com put sellers in touch with buyers. No paperwork is required for private sales. David Chipman, a former Giffords senior policy adviser, called Armslist a “gun show that never closes.”

Everytown for Gun Safety studied all firearms postings between 2018 and 2020 on Armslist, which describes itself as the “largest free gun classifieds on the web.” Unlicensed gun sellers posted an average of 1.6 million firearms ads per year, the study said. Of those, 78% were from sellers in states like Texas that don’t require a background check, according to Everytown.

When asked for comment, Armslist issued a statement on the ATF rule change, calling it a “sidestepping” of Congress that unconstitutionally limits Second Amendment rights.

“As with most government interventions around firearms, the rule change will disproportionately affect law-abiding citizens while doing little to deter criminals,” the company said.

Armslist said the new rule’s lack of clarity is leading to confusion for legal gun owners. ATF, for example, failed to explain how many gun sales indicate a profit motive under the new rule or what constitutes too many sales, the statement said.

Armslist said a better idea would be to make background checks free and more widely available.

“This would ensure the background check process is not only accessible but also affordable for all law-abiding citizens, a crucial step in promoting responsible gun ownership.”

Social media, including Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, has become a popular venue for unlicensed dealers to sell guns and parts, according to federal authorities and case files.

Court documents describe one transaction between a seller and an ATF informant.

“I did time,” the informant told Alberto Estevan Hernandez, 33, who bought guns from licensed dealers and then used Instagram to sell them out of his car, court records show.

“That’s why it’s (price) high bro, it’s not on paper,” Hernandez allegedly told the informant.

He pleaded guilty in Dallas in March 2023 to unlicensed firearms dealing and was sentenced to four years’ probation. Hernandez’s attorney said in an email his client’s light punishment was “a result of many mitigating factors.”