By MIKE REUTHER mreuther@sungazette.com
POSTED: April 22, 2010

Montgomery Mayor Andrew Onufrak counts himself among a statewide network of municipal officials who want to make it harder for criminals to get ahold of guns.

He and those such as Lancaster Mayor Richard Gray spoke out Tuesday about the need for background checks of people purchasing firearms at gun shows.

"If you are a law-abiding citizen you have nothing to worry about," Onufrak said during the Pennsylvania Mayors Against Illegal Guns teleconference. "We want Washington to protect the people. That's it."

People are prohibited in Pennsylvania from buying a firearm at a gun show without first undergoing a background check, but surrounding states such as New Jersey, Ohio and Maryland have no such law.

Federal legislation being considered in both the Senate and House would close the so-called gun show loophole.

Without such a federal mandate, leaders such as Gray, a former defense attorney, fear that nothing will stop criminals from buying firearms elsewhere and come back to Pennsylvania to commit gun-related crimes.

"In practicing law for approximately 40 years, it was quite obvious that criminals don't recognize jurisdictions, but do know where to get things. If there is no uniformity between states, these people can go elsewhere to get guns. We don't want to infringe on people's rights. We want to make sure people in other states go through background checks. We are in favor of people who have the right to have firearms, but opposed to those who would use them for illegal means, and those who shouldn't have them from having them."

Gray said as mayor he's seen the result of gun violence.

"We go to the funerals We see the bodies. We see the parents."

It's not just innocent citizens who are killed by gunfire, it's also police officers who get caught in the line of fire, he noted.

Unfortunately, Gray said, the National Rifle Association is taking a hard line on the gun show loophole.

NRA officials could not be contacted for this story.

However, the NRA Institute for Legislative Action website noted that federal law does require persons engaged in the business of selling firearms for profit on a regular basis to conduct background checks regardless of where the sale takes place, although it does exempt those selling firearms from a personal collection.

"Though Congress specifically has applied the background check requirement to dealers only, and specifically exempted from the dealer licensing requirement persons who occasionally sell guns from their person collections, gun prohibition activists call this a 'loophole.' Gun prohibitionists also falsely claim that many criminals get guns from gun shows; the most recent federal study put the figure at only 0.7 percent," the website stated.

Onufrak, a gun owner, said the NRA is not the problem and politics should not enter into the argument.

"Personally, I think the NRA is not a threat. I am elected to serve the people, not the NRA. It comes down to a people issue. The hell with the politics, we are talking about lives."

U.S. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Howard, who is against the House legislation, noted less than 1 percent of guns used by criminals obtain them from gun shows.

"I would trust that most members of Congress who would be opposed to this measure would understand that gun shows really don't contribute to guns getting into the hands of criminals."

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-Dimock, also opposes the measure.

"This is a bad bill that would impose burdensome new rules on gun owners and vendors. It would require registration of gun shows, create gun-owner registration and open the door for vendors and organizers to be harassed through intrusive inspections. Studies show that less than 1 percent of guns used in criminal acts are purchased at gun shows. As an avid sportsman and firearms owner, I oppose the over-regulation of guns owned by responsible Americans."

Reading Mayor Thomas McMann said mass killings involving guns in Columbine, Colo., and at Virginia Tech should have served as a wakeup call to tighten gun laws.

He claimed that some 70 percent of NRA members believe the gun show loophole should be closed.

"We aren't going after legitimate owners of guns," he said.

West Goshen Police Chief Mike Carroll, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said as long as the loophole exists, both the public and law enforcement officials are at risk.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto said it's not about gun control.

"This is a common sense law. Illegal gun owners cause the problems," he said.

Pennsylvania Mayors Against Illegal Guns is launching a campaign urging Sens. Arlen Specter, D-Philadelphia, and Bob Casey, D-Scranton, to close the loophole.

Meanwhile, television ads featuring undercover footage of an illegal sale at an Ohio gun show were to appear in the state's major media markets Wednesday through Sunday.