Ryan Nobles of NBC12 interviewed Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia's 3rd District recently, on the topic of the "gun show loophole". A sample of his scintillating rhetoric:

Scott: Well, I think it's important that we have a matrix where people who are not able to buy firearms shouldn't be able to buy firearms. People who have felonies, people who are mentally unstable, who are found not to be entitled to buy firearms, they go into a gun shop, they will be a background check. All we're asking is that the background check requirement also apply to gun shows where lots of weapons are sold. We found and seen videos of people going in to gun shows and not showing any ID at all, and certainly don't have to show anything but the money, and they come out with a firearm. Hand guns, military assault weapons and everything else without any background check at all. And all we're asking is the same requirement for a back ground check applying at gun shows as it applies everywhere else.

Anyone who frequents gun shows knows that the background check already applies to every gun sold by every dealer at every show. The only exception to the rule are private sales between individuals, and it doesn't matter if that sale occurs at a gun show, in a living room or on someone's porch - it's not a "gun show loophole"; it's a "private sale loophole". Private sellers are already required to verify that the purchaser is a resident of the state in which the transfer occurs and are strongly recommended to keep a record of the purchaser's name and address to exclude themselves from being a suspect in the event the gun is later recovered after being used in a crime, to say nothing of civil liability.