By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings From an announcment from Kirk Adams, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives – Advertisement House Speaker Kirk Adams announced today his selection of Scott Freeman to serve on the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. “Mr. Freeman is exceptionally qualified for this important role. I am confident he will execute … Read more

By Karl Reiner The war being waged by the competing Mexican illegal drug cartels to control the supply routes to the lucrative U.S. market continues unabated.  The Mexican government has announced that violence related to drug-trafficking killed 15,273 in 2010. This is a sharp increase over the 9,616 people reported killed during 2009. The extension … Read more

by David Safier You gotta love this use of the term "liberal" in today's Republic article: Arizona solidified its reputation last year as one of the most liberal gun states in the nation after the Legislature passed a law allowing people to carry concealed weapons without a permit. Though the term "liberal" is accurate in … Read more

by David Safier

Here is a transcript of a conversation between an undercover investigator buying a Sig Sauer pistol at the January 23 gun show in Phoenix and a seller:

Investigator: “So, you’re not one of those, you know, dealer guys, right?”

Seller: “No. No tax, no form, you don’t have to do transfers or nothing.”

Investigator: “Yeah, yeah.”

Seller: “Just see an Arizona ID and that’s it with me.”

Investigator: “So no background check?”

Seller: “No.”

Investigator: “That’s good, because I probably couldn’t pass one, you know what I mean?”

In two cases, investigators were able to buy guns after admitting they  couldn't pass the background check. That happens to be illegal. Though gun shows don't require background checks,

. . . it is a violation of federal law to sell guns to people if sellers suspect they are felons or mentally ill or are otherwise prohibited from buying.

Apparently the eyeball honor system doesn't work all that well.

NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is leading the charge for Mayors Against Illegal Guns, discussed the findings from the investigation of the Phoenix gun show at a news conference. You can read the entire press release after the jump.

You can also learn more at the Gunshow Undercover–Arizona website. Here is a video of one of the gun purchases by a buyer who says he would flunk a background check.

 

Posted by AzBlueMeanie: On Thursday, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission released its final report, a 576-page book that is supposed to explain the causes of, and assign blame for, the great financial crash of 2007-08. Not so much. The panel issued three reports, with two ideologically driven minority reports from Republican members who defended the free-market, … Read more