Video: Gun Shows May be Banned from Central Texas

Officials in Austin, Texas and Travis County will vote this week on bills that would ban gun shows on public and private property, reports The Austin American Statesman.

The bans would not affect the ability of law abiding citizens to obtain weapons, reports KEYE-TV.

Gun shows allow people with criminal records to purchase a firearm without undergoing a background check (which the criminals would normally fail). These proposed laws would close that loophole by banning gun shows altogether.

The National Gun Victims Action Council states that about 30 percent of guns trafficked by criminals are traced to gun shows, including the weapons used in the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado.

The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is used to do background checks, is actually incomplete because it makes reporting criminals a voluntary procedure for individual states.