Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
The Brady Campaign just got smacked down in court yet again. This time The United States Court of Appeals ruled against the anti-gun group in their lawsuit against gun classified website Armslist.com.
Armslist.com is one of several classified websites for gun sales. The way sites like this work is that a seller lists a gun for sale and someone contacts them about purchasing it. In some cases, the buyer and seller will be in different states, this means the seller must ship the gun to a dealer in the buyer's area where the buyer will undergo a background check in order to take possession of the gun.
If the buyer and seller are in the same state, depending on state laws, they may be able to meet face to face and legally transfer the firearm without getting a dealer involved. However, it is still illegal to sell a gun to anyone who you even suspect might be ineligible to own one. It is also illegal to attempt to purchase a firearm if you are a prohibited person.
Those facts don't seem to matter to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence as they have now sued the gun classified website Armslist.com in an attempt to hold them liable for crimes that might, theoretically, be committed with the guns purchased through their website.
However, as Armslist points out, they don't sell guns and don't get involved in the transactions at all past the point of allowing people to post for sale ads on their website. Users must agree to the following terms before using Armslist at all,
I understand that ARMSLIST DOES NOT become involved in transactions between parties and does not certify, investigate, or in any way guarantee the legal capacity of any party to transact.
I am responsible for obeying all applicable enforcement mechanisms, including, but not limited to federal, state, municipal, and tribal statutes, rules, regulations, ordinances, and judicial decisions, including compliance with all applicable licensing requirements.
If I am unsure about firearms sales or transfers, I will contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives at 1-800-ATF-GUNS and visit the ATF website at http://www.atf.gov.
The Brady Campaign argues that Armslist exists in order to allow people to easily circumvent existing gun laws, which is ludicrous. If you've ever bought a gun from a private seller, you know most people will go out of their way to make sure the transaction is legal. Fortunately, in this case the Court of Appeals saw through Brady's argument as well.
Attempting to hold Armslist liable for sales in this situation would be like trying to hold a local newspaper accountable for you getting a sexually transmitted disease after answering that sketchy personals ad in the classifieds section.