
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 29, 1994                   TAG: 9409290063
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FLEA-MARKET GUNS ALSO MONITORED

Q: I read a lot about gun control and having to wait five days before purchasing a revolver or rifle. But on Saturday at a flea market in Roanoke, a guy about 20 years old came with three other boys and purchased a .357 Magnum from a man who had it on a table. All the buyer did was pull out $300, and the revolver was his. The seller asked for no ID, no nothing. Why is it that a person like myself would have to go to the trouble of filing an application to buy a gun, when these guys can go to a flea market and buy one without any problem?

T.Z., Hardy

A: You've just described a private sale of a handgun.

None of the gun-control legislation passed so far affects an occasional transaction between two private parties-automatic weapons excepted, of course.

Virginia does prohibit people from buying more than one handgun a month, but no records are required for private sales.

These exemptions don't add up to a wide-open loophole for gun runners, though.

State and federal officers have been gathering information about the extent of gun-sale violations at flea markets, said Jim Silvey, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms resident agent in Roanoke.

If the seller you observed is doing business at flea markets on a continuing basis, he may be violating the law. Flea-market sellers have been prosecuted in the Roanoke area.

People who sell firearms for profit and restock their inventory must obtain a dealer license. They'll have to make the instant check with state police on all buyers' backgrounds, and keep detailed sales records.

The Brady bill, enacted last February, was publicized as a mandatory five-day wait for the purchase of a handgun. Brady didn't apply to Virginia, though, because the state already had a law requiring instant background checks on gun buyers.

Therefore, Virginia residents never faced a five-day delay, and the state had been a major source for gun-runners to the Northeast. The state's one-gun-a-month limit apparently has made some difference, however.

DMV questionnaire

Q: Why does DMV, on the driver's license application, ask if you've had a traffic violation in past 10 years in the state where you previously lived?|

D.C., Roanoke

A: It's an honesty check, essentially.

If someone failed to provide the correct information-say, for example, they forgot about a DUI suspension-it would give Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles additional grounds for refusing to issue a license.

More than 40 states, including Virginia, are on line with the Drivers License Compact, a data base with information about drivers. Other states share this information on paper.

Often-but not always-a DMV clerk can make an over-the-counter check of an applicant's driving record from another state, a DMV spokesperson said.

Sometimes the information may say something like "license suspended" without giving a reason. DMV will ask the applicant to provide details in writing.|

Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118.

by CNB