Boston Herald Article Misses Point on Handgun Purchases

Yet another liberal politician is up in arms because he can’t get his way with gun laws, and the hometown papers are giving moral support. This isn’t New York, and it isn’t Chicago. This time it is Boston, where The Boston Herald noted that Gov. Deval Patrick believes the gun lobby is putting pressure on members of the House to oppose a bill that would restrict licensed gun owners from purchasing more than one firearm a month.

First, isn’t that what lobbyists are meant to do? Patrick makes it seem like the lobbyists are suddenly doing something wrong or dirty, and actually this is how the paper reported it. Yes, this is a case of special interest… but show us one industry in this country that doesn’t have a special interest. The gun lobby represents gun owners, and it is their job to let the politicians know their opinion.

But things get further muddled as the Herald attempts to describe the bill:

“The bill is designed clamp down on so-called ‘straw purchasers’ who buy guns legally and then resell them to convicted felons and others barred from owning guns.”

This is again what many people believe, and what the media continues to report on. Part of the problem with this reporting is that it doesn’t offer any counterpoint. Nor does it note neighboring New Hampshire doesn’t require gun buyers to have a purchase permit. In other words, all you do is go to New Hampshire and to a licensed dealer and you can buy a gun, even if you are an out of state resident.

Thus if the straw purchases were an issue gun owners could drive a few miles. Criminals can find a way around the law, but the Massachusetts law clearly is only aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens.