Jack Reed: “In summary, this amendment that Senator McCain and I proposed is as sensible as I think one can ever fashion a law. When…”

“In summary, this amendment that Senator McCain and I proposed is as sensible as I think one can ever fashion a law. When someone walks into a gun show with thousands of individuals, hundreds of booths, it makes no sense to the average person why one individual should require a background check and another does not have to conduct a background check in the sale of a firearm. It makes sense to have an even playing field. These are public events. It is virtually impossible for a seller at a major gun show to know the background of all the potential purchasers. We know these gun shows are exploited. This is not hypothetical. They are exploited by criminals. Goodness gracious, it makes perfect sense why they would be. It is a supermarket where a person can obtain firearms without any background check. It is like a neon sign that says: Come here if you are looking to get weapons and you cannot buy them legally. We know what happens. We also know because of the threat of terrorists that terrorists have looked at these gun shows as possible ways to obtain firearms. Frankly, I think the American public would demand, as they have in the past, anything we can do that would curtail access to dangerous weapons to terrorists. So I hope we support closing the gun show loophole. I also hope we support the assault weapons ban.”