First the “gun show loophole”, now the “private sale loophole”, next…
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http://www.sunjournal.com/story.asp?slg=020801gunsales

A senator from Auburn is proposing a first-in-the-nation law that would put
an end to private gun sales without background checks.

Under a bill submitted by Sen. Neria Douglass, D-Auburn, anyone selling a
firearm in Maine would have to have a federal license from the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Anyone who has such a license must conduct
background checks on buyers before each sale.

“We’ve all read about the gun show loophole,” Douglass said. “This is meant
to close that loophole. It’s an issue of safety of the general public to
make sure there are records checked before an individual buys a gun.”

Dealers who sell firearms in their stores must have a license to do so and
must run background checks, Douglass said. The same should be required for
private sales, she said.

The bill already has support from police and citizen groups calling for more
gun laws, but it will face stiff opposition from citizens who oppose gun
laws. Both sides agree that many guns are sold in Maine through private
sales. Consequently, those guns are sold without background checks.

George Smith of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine called Douglass’ proposal
“ridiculous,” and described the bill as essentially outlawing the private
sales of guns in Maine.

Lewiston Police Chief William Welch said he believes requiring gun sellers
to have federal licenses is appropriate.

“I don’t advocate gun control, but we do need to regulate some of the people
who have access to weapons,” Welch said. If licenses were required for
sales, it would ensure that everyone got a background check so guns would
not be sold to youngsters or criminals, the chief said. “We are not trying
to stop free enterprise. This would hold everyone to the same standards.”

The Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence applauded Douglass for
introducing a “common-sense approach to trying to reduce senseless handgun
violence in our state,” said spokesman Bill Harwood.

The gun show loophole has been used to allow criminals and unscrupulous gun
dealers to buy and sell without background checks, Harwood said. Nationally,
40 percent of all gun sales occur without background checks at gun shows and
through private sales.

“So if we are going to have any realistic efforts to controlling the flow of
firearms, we can’t have such large unregulated sales,” Harwood said. “Too
many guns are sold across the kitchen table,” he said, adding that one only
needs to look at the classified ads of any newspaper or at the number of gun
shows held in Maine.

A gun show, he said, is how Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris got firearms to
kill 12 classmates and a teacher in Columbine, Colo. In recent years, three
states – Oregon, Colorado and Florida – have passed laws closing the gun
show loophole. “Those states are not unlike Maine,” Harwood said.

The bill that the Sportsman’s Alliance was gearing up to oppose was one that
would outlaw private sales at gun shows. “This bill goes way beyond that,”
Smith said. “I just can’t imagine the day when one individual could not sell
another individual a gun without being licensed by the government. This is
just not a reasonable proposal.”

Smith said there is no need for the law, which would ensure more background
checks. Last year there were only 11 homicides from guns in Maine, “and the
city of Portland didn’t have a single one. So why do we need more gun laws?”
Smith asked.

SAM is opposed to requiring private sellers to have a license to sell at gun
shows and in their own homes because it costs $600 to get a federal license,
and that license is cumbersome to obtain, Smith said.

Bruce Reynolds, manager of Woodman’s Sporting Goods in Norway, agreed, and
questioned how such a law could be enforced. “This basically still is the
United States of America. I don’t believe licensing is the answer.”