Close the loophole on private gun sales

Dwayne Morton, Las Vegas

Friday, Aug. 9, 2013 | 2:03 a.m.

Eugene Stoner and Mikhail Kalashnikov are two examples of designers of what became the modern sporting rifle, aka the assault rifle.

They were intended to defend the homeland; later versions were designed so any conscript could accurately shoot with high rates of fire. In various wars, they’ve killed millions of people.

OK, we find the semiautomatic versions fun to shoot, highly evolved and lightweight — a marvel of modern engineering. You can easily pick one up at a Wal-Mart, then literally buy tons of ammo, even the armor-piercing stuff made at the same facility that makes it for our military, and the popular drum magazines, online, delivered to your door.

Only a background check, a very short process at the retailer, keeps the criminals and the crazies from loading up on them. They can and do buy them from private parties, no background check required.

Please explain to me why I, as a good citizen, must pass a background check to buy a gun at a retailer, but a crook buying it in a private sale doesn’t? How can we feel safe and have confidence in a system with loopholes the size a barn door?

Nevadans enjoy their guns; it’s part of our DNA, our Constitution, and we are proud of it. But we must use our common sense and intelligence in devising a system that protects us from those who should not have them.