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eGuns By David Gitlin No longer just a tool for buying pornography and CDs, the Internet can now be used to buy guns, too. A search for "gun stores online" at altavista.com yields 375,000 results. Clearly, a new medium to peddle firearms has developed. To buy a gun online, gunindex.com is the best start. Hundreds of links are given to dealers on the Internet in all parts of the country. The site is separated into Products, Dealers, and other categories to get the user shopping as fast as possible. Auction sites have become one of the most popular ways to buy things online. Ebay.com, the leader in auction sites, prohibits all firearm transactions, according to the company's policy page on their website. "Any item that is designed to propel a metal (or similar) projectile is covered ... regardless of that item's...ability to fire." This, in turn, excludes sporting, antique, BB, and air guns, as well as ammunition with propellant, flare guns, and silencers. Unserviceable ordinance, which is military weaponry, is also excluded, unless accompanied with official documentation from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms stating that the item is demilitarized. Demilitarization involves making the item permanently altered and safe for transport and sale. Ebay does allow items that relate to firearms, such as holsters, scopes, and ammunition without propellant. Further, paintball guns, replica and imitation guns are acceptable as long as U.S. Code Title 15, Section 5001 is enforced. The code calls for bright orange tips inserted in the muzzle of toy guns, and a ban on replicas of firearms built before 1898. The gun enthusiast should not be deterred. There are gun-specific auction sites on the Internet. Gunbroker.com has listings in air guns, revolvers, pistols, rifles, shotguns, antiques, and assault rifles available by auction. Many guns are listed, such as an Uzi 9mm Model B (with wood furniture!), at less than $1,000. A Smith & Wesson Model 686 Combat .357 Magnum started at $50, according to the gunbroker.com product listings. Auction Arms, at auctionarms.com, another online firearms
auction site, states that it "is an online marketplace where firearm
buyers, sellers, and afficionados meet to conduct transactions ... Auction
Arms cannot take any responsibility for the ... quality, safety, or
legality of any items auctioned off." The only restrictions are on explosives,
explosive devices, and instructions to build explosives. Sales will only be shipped to a Federal Firearms Licensee,
according to the listings on both gunbroker.com and auctionarms.com.
By ATF regulation via the Gun Control Act of 1968, a firearm can only
be sent to an FFL. Therefore, an auctioneer will only send to a legal
FFL holder, which can be a pawn shop, a gun store, or any individual
who happens to sell guns out of his home or at a gun show, according
to "Reducing Firearm Injury and Death, A Public Health Sourcebook on
Guns," written by Trudy A. Karlson and Stephen W. Hargarten.
Online firearm sales aren't limited to auctions. Many websites such as ithacagun.com, website of the Ithaca Gun company, offer purchases of firearms of all types. Ithacagun.com sells such products as a "Turkeyslayer" rifle for $527.36. This rifle is dipped in camouflage "to ensure total concealment in turkey woods," according to their website. As per ATF policy, gun sales will only be referred to an Ithaca Gun approved FFL dealer, and payment is made at the point of pickup. All online sales include a 10 percent discount, and a free Ithaca Gun baseball cap. We Are Guns out of Massachusetts, found at gunsareus.com, will only send a gun after receiving a signed copy of the FFL and sales tax certificate. Ammodump.com will sell a gun to a civilian who calls first for a price, and then sends a money order or credit card information to the company's headquarters in Houston. The site also has pictures of buxom women holding large firearms. Any other steps in the transaction are handled from there on, according to the respective company websites. Not all firearm websites require an FFL. The Muzzle Loading Hunter Store, at mlhunter.com, will send any muzzle loading rifle to an address via UPS with "Adult Signature Required." The ATF classifies muzzle loading firearms as antique, and thus can be shipped from anywhere to anyone. Any cardholder of legal age, 18, can purchase a rifle from the company. The company takes no responsibility for fraudulent orders, and assumes no purchasers are of legal age, and allowed to purchase a rifle, according to the company's policy section of its website. Many firearm companies simply put their catalog online, and purcahses can be made through phone or mail order. Milarm Co. Ltd., out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, at milarm.com, sells rifles, edged weapons, handguns, and fatigues, among other militia accessories, according to the company website. At the Discount Gun Warehouse from Houston, TX, at discountguns.com, banned assault weapons are available, such as a DAEWOO DR200, for $799. There is an online order form requiring only a shipping and billing address, along with an email address for confirmation. Along with firearm listings, the website offers political commentary. "Get your assault weapon, semi-auto ammo before Clinton does away with them." There are more than 60 different weapons sorted into handguns, long guns, and accessories, according to the company website. While there are no firm statistics on gun sales on the Internet, it is easy to assume that they are much higher than they were just one year ago. In the wake of the school shootings, and recent statements on gun control by President Clinton and George Pataki, it is surprising that the vast new market of firearm purchases online was not discussed. David Gitlin is a freshman major at Ithaca College. |
