Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 11, 1994 TAG: 9401110188
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
With his baseball cap, striped sweat shirt and ample girth, Dorish could have passed for any of dozens of customers milling about the gun show at the Richmond fairgrounds.
But Dorish's mission was more intense. Part of a special unit launched last year to attack Virginia's status as an East Coast gunrunning mecca, Dorish was working undercover to monitor a major source of illicit gun sales: gun shows.
Virginia is host to about 75 gun shows annually, capped by the mammoth Hillsville show each fall. State Police say the casual atmosphere, combined with the quirks of federal and state law, make show weekends open season for abuse.
While police also caution that most dealers are aboveboard and even helpful in spotting violations, they remain concerned about infractions: legal buyers known as "straw purchasers" getting guns for convicted felons or juveniles, out-of-state dealers illegally selling handguns, dealers failing to check the criminal backgrounds of buyers, or nondealers selling a large number of guns without a license.
Complicating enforcement, they say, is an informal but longstanding policy under which the federal agents who monitor gun dealers are barred from gun shows without special permission from their superiors.
That leaves most enforcement at gun shows to local police and state troopers such as Dorish.
As Dorish strolled aisles lined with merchandise ranging from an $18,000 rifle for hunting elephants and a $1,400 Nazi storm trooper visor to inexpensive handguns, his eyes swept the crowd.
They settled on the woman and her male companion, and he moved closer in time to catch a telltale phrase. "I'm just filling out the paperwork," the woman told the dealer as Dorish hovered nearby.
Those words, Dorish said later, are a sign of potential trouble. While there are legitimate reasons why a woman might buy a gun for her male companion, the male-female duo is a familiar one in straw-purchase cases.
Dorish's plans to intercept the pair were cut short, however, as a Henrico County police officer signaled urgently to him from a nearby doorway. Two females with "a wad of cash" had just bought two Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistols and were getting into a van in the parking lot, the officer reported.
Hurrying outside, Dorish jumped into his own parked car and headed toward an exit. In the distance, he could see a white van, trailed by two Henrico County police cars. Moments later, he passed the van and the police cars at a convenience store and doubled back to check on the outcome of the pursuit.
The Henrico police found no evidence of illegal activity, Dorish reported. Still, suspicions remained. "They may have purchased the guns for two males. They may have said, `We'll meet you at the house later.' There's no way to know."
Illegal buys, Dorish and other officers explain, are only one of their concerns at gun shows. The good news is that some illegal activity - including guns being sold from open trunks in parking lots - has been curtailed since state police began routinely monitoring gun shows a year ago, they say.
But state police say some unlicensed individuals are selling large numbers of guns at shows and flea markets. A legal loophole exempting "private sales" allows them to avoid police background checks.
Police also are convinced that non-Virginians are illegally selling handguns at Virginia shows, said Maj. Jerry Conner, who helped draft gun legislation that is expected to be introduced by the outgoing Wilder administration.
Conner and members of a task force on violent crime, appointed by Gov. Douglas Wilder, argue that the hands of state police are tied in investigating such suspected crimes, because there is no state license for gun dealers.
Meanwhile, under a policy of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, federal agents are seldom around to check licensees at State police say some unlicensed individuals are selling large numbers of guns at shows and flea markets. A legal loophole exempting "private sales" allows them to avoid police background checks. gun shows. They can attend only with special approval.
Jack Killorin, an ATF spokesman, said the widespread belief that ATF agents are barred by their superiors from attending gun shows because of pressure from the National Rifle Association is "a bad misunderstanding."
"We can go anywhere that there's information a crime is being committed," he said. But with 2,000 enforcement agents nationwide and thousands of gun shows, "we don't go touring."
A law passed last year requires gun-show promoters to give state police a list of individuals who will be selling at the show and, later, a list of vendors who actually attended.
State police and Wilder's task force applaud that change but advocate a permit process that would provide more-detailed information about vendors, as well as a state license for gun dealers.
A spokesman for Gov.-elect George Allen refused to say where Allen stands on those proposals until after he is inaugurated this week. But spokesman Ken Stroupe cautioned that Allen, who campaigned against gun control and in favor of stricter punishment for gun offenses, will focus on criminals, "not honest citizens."
Some prominent dealers also oppose requiring a state license. John Copeland, manager of DeGoff's Firearms in Mechanicsville, pointed to a shelf full of gun-sale records. "A dealer's license is going to create a state agency that basically has the same function the federal agency has," he said.
Back at the Henrico gun show, a different-looking Dorish wandered the crowd. To mask his movements, the trooper changes shirts and hats several times during a show.
Earlier in the day, Dorish's vigil had paid dividends as he helped intercept a man suspected of buying a gun for three juveniles. The previous day, Dorish had watched the three youths for about an hour as they scouted for handguns. When they returned, he was ready.
A couple of dealers also helped monitor the youths' actions. "The rule of thumb is that most dealers are in compliance," Dorish said. The challenge, he said, is to ferret out those who are not.
by CNB