Local activist, lawmakers talk gun show loop hole in Duval County

Just ahead of two gun shows coming to our area over the next month, local lawmakers are working to make sure a legal loophole doesn’t allow firearms into the wrong hands.

The gun show loophole allows private parties or a private seller to sell a gun to a customer without requiring a background check prior to the sale.

This comes following the deadly triple shooting at Raines High School,

The Jacksonville Landing mass shooting, the double shooting of two women on Jacksonville’s Westside and the shooting of 7-year-old Heydi Rivas-Villanueva, which all occurred in the span of a few weeks.

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Local organizations in Jacksonville refuse to let their cry to end gun violence fall on deaf ears.

Over the last week, Action News Jax's reporter Courtney Cole covered anti-violence rallies where activists and community leaders have expressed their determination to come up with viable, long-term solutions.

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According to the Women's March Jacksonville captain Bonnie Hendrix, closing the gun show loophole is one of them.

“I don’t think we should be able to give guns to people without background checks,” said Brandi Paradiso.

The loophole allows private sellers to do just that.

"I believe the seller has a responsibility of making sure the public is safe, period,” said state Sen. Audrey Gibson, District 6.

Gibson said she believes the gun show loophole should be closed for the protection of the community as a whole.

“The biggest challenge is the perception that any gun legislation, or legislation to deter gun violence, is met with a wall that you’re taking someone’s second amendment rights away,” Gibson told Action News Jax.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has introduced three separate bills that would help close the loophole. They include the following:

S. 2009, Background Check Expansion Act

Requires background checks for the sale or transfer of all firearms, whether through unlicensed sellers, online or gun shows.

S. 2492, NICS Denial Notification Act (“Lie and Try”)

Notifies state and local law enforcement within 24-hours when an individual prohibited by NICS attempts to purchase a firearm.

S. 2458, Terrorist Firearms Prevention Act

Provides Attorney General authority to deny the sale of firearms or explosives to individuals on the no-fly or selectee lists and requires the attorney general and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to be notified if an individual who is, or has been within the previous five years, on the Terrorist Screening Database attempts to purchase a firearm or explosive.

None of them have been passed.

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Cole also reached out to Senator Marco Rubio’s office, but has not yet received a response.

County leaders have the ability to pass local laws to close the loophole.

Cole reached out to Mayor Lenny Curry and City Council President Aaron Bowman, to find out if they are any plans in the works to do that.

She has not received a response from either office.

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Cole also reached out to the National Rifle Association's headquarters.

While no one was able to speak on-camera, two media liaisons did send information about their stance on the gun show loophole.

They compared the private sale of guns to selling a piece of furniture or a car. They posed the question: If you don’t need a license to sell furniture or a car, why would you need one to sell a firearm?

Cox Media Group