Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 4, 1994 TAG: 9401040208
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Boston Globe
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The plan, part of a broader gun control package that Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen will unveil to enhance the recently enacted Brady bill, would target the vast majority of the 287,000 dealers who acquire federal licenses but do not operate retail stores, authorities said.
"There are now more gun dealers than gas stations," a White House official said. "There's no way [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] can police all of them."
The official, who asked not to be identified, said raising the fee is expected to slash drastically the number of dealers who renew their federal licenses and help provide the funds necessary for stricter enforcement of gun laws.
Handgun Control Inc., which lobbies for tougher firearms laws, estimates that more than 90 percent of people with federal licenses operate in relative secrecy, many illegally. "They deal guns across the kitchen table or don't really operate as dealers at all," said spokeswoman Susan Whitmore.
National Rifle Association lobbyist Joe Phillips told The Associated Press that the proposed fee increase is "entirely unjustified" and about five times the actual cost of issuing the license.
Several gun dealers said federally licensed dealers include small-time profiteers who buy many guns in states with few restrictions and sell them on the streets - often to criminals - in other states.
Other gun dealers called the plan misguided, saying most guns are bought legally.
by CNB