I-594 cites bad example for what universal gun background checks can achieve

Taken from The Jason Rantz Show on KIRO Radio.

I got a press release from the I-594 campaign and it was highlighting a news story that appeared in the SeattlePI this week about a felon who was caught selling guns illegally online.

The 594 press release says that this particular felon, named Michael Joanen, used the loophole in Washington’s background check to illegally buy, illegally sell, illegally trade guns online. They write that the story illustrates “the importance of passing Initiative 594, the background check initiative that would close the background check loophole and help keep guns out of dangerous hands.”

Now, what is the motto of this show? It is to fact check everything because we want to be a better consumer of news. So let’s fact check this and let’s see if the claims by the 594 campaign actually hold up.

According to Levi Pulkkinen at the Seattle PI:

How would I-594 have prevented this? That is the claim coming from the campaign. I-594 puts into place mandatory background checks for all gun purchases including ones that are done on the Internet. But the thing is, that wouldn’t have prevented what happened. In fact, what took place can happen if you pass 594.

Joanen is a criminal. Criminals tend not to follow the law. The only case that 594 folks could make is if this guy originally bought the gun through a gun show and didn’t go through a background check. But the 594 campaign has no idea where he got the gun originally.

I sent an email to the author of this piece in the SeattlePI and asked him where Joanen got the gun he was selling. He generally confirmed no one knows where the gun came from. They do know it wasn’t stolen.

If 594 passes, it would have required Michael Joanen to go to a licensed dealer before selling it to this third party. But of course, he could still simply choose not to do that. He can simply say I’m not going to do that, I’m a felon, I’m not going to voluntarily embrace this law. There is no mechanism to force him to go through the licensed dealer. He can do what he did that got him busted to begin with.

Tacoma mayor Marilyn Strickland is also quoted in this press release. She said:

“Today we saw another example of the danger of allowing criminals to buy and sell guns online without conducting background checks. Michael Joanen was a felon who knew he would fail a background check. He also knew that he could easily exploit the loophole in our law by using the Internet as a gateway for buying, selling and trading guns. His arrest highlights the importance of passing Initiative 594 this November to close this loophole and make our cities safer.”

That is not true. That is nonsense. Joanen could still just sell the gun. You’re being misled. You are being misled by the 594 campaign because they want you to feel that if you pass this, you will be safe. You very well may be safer, but you’re not going to be safer when you’re looking at a case like this. This is an example that could still happen if 594 passes.

The universal background check may be a good idea. I’m not necessarily opposed to universal background checks. I think they can be absolutely helpful. But to pretend that suddenly felons will follow the law without actually being compelled, that is just ridiculous.

You have to wonder why people are going down this route using something that can so clearly be dismissed as not applicable to the actual law. Of course, they are doing that because they want to get you to fear what we are doing with gun checks right now in this state. They want you to come onto their side.

Now, I-594 can make some really good arguments about why universal background checks are a good idea, but the fact is, this case is not a good example.

Taken from The Jason Rantz Show on KIRO Radio.