May 2, 2010

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Any criminal, drunk, psycho, addict, teenager or other unsuitable American can attend a gun show and buy deadly pistols from amateur dealers -- no questions asked. Such informal sales don't require background checks of the sort performed by licensed dealers.

 

Since America is saturated with about 70 million handguns, it's easy for these weapons to flow through makeshift booths and tables of gun galas, then join the flood of illicit pistols on U.S. streets, where they cause a bloodbath.

The Gun Show Loophole Closing Act, pending several years in Congress, would force amateur dealers to perform background checks before making sales. But timid senators and representatives, terrified by the gun lobby, hesitate to support it.

However, the bipartisan Mayors Against Illegal Guns is waging a crusade for passage. On April 20, city leaders staged a rally for the proposed law. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said:

"Today marks the 11th anniversary of the tragic shootings at Columbine High School. Last Friday was the three-year anniversary of the nation's deadliest shooting, at Virginia Tech. Each day, 35 people in America are murdered with guns -- the equivalent of a Virginia Tech massacre every single day. Yet, while criminals are busy evading critical background checks at gun shows, Congress continues to turn a blind eye to this glaring gap in our nation's gun laws."

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino added: "Right now, anyone, including felons and people with serious mental-health histories, can buy a gun from a private seller at a gun show without a background check. In turn, guns purchased at gun shows flood the streets of our cities and are recovered in murders, assaults and other violent crimes."

America's pistol murder rate is vastly higher than the toll in other advanced democracies. The reason isn't because Americans are more criminal -- it's because the other nations sensibly keep dangerous weapons out of dangerous hands.

Since America is infested with millions of murder instruments, we don't know whether control laws ever can reduce the death toll. But conscientious leaders should keep trying. Closing the gun show loophole would be a plausible step.

by From staff reports

 

A Charleston man was taken to the hospital after he was brutally beaten and robbed early Sunday afternoon in downtown Charleston.

It happened in the 200-block of Capitol Street across from Taylor Books, Charleston police said.

Lt. Chuck Sisson said officers found Kenneth Napier, 63, beaten and bloody lying on the sidewalk with a female friend standing next to him Sunday afternoon. Officers found Napier with blood coming from his face and head. He also had several large knots.

Three witnesses told police that they'd seen the incident from Taylor Books.

The victim's friend, identified as Ms. Thomas, told officers that she and Napier had been walking down the sidewalk when a group of three black men walked by with a white woman. Thomas told police that the woman in the group said something to her and Napier and then the three men threw Napier to the ground and started beating him, police said.

Sisson said Napier told officers that the three men repeatedly kicked him in the head, face and stomach during the assault. One of the men then reached into Napier's pants and took his wallet.

Napier told police that he is homeless and that he sometimes sleeps at Davis Park and recognized two of the men. He told police their names were George Hatcher and Todd. Thomas identified the woman as Renee.
He was transported to St. Francis Hospital for treatment.

The group was last seen running east toward Quarrier Street.