THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2008

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Mulder Supports Kirk's Gun Law

Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene Mulder supports U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-10) in his efforts to close a loophole in a federal gun law.

"We certainly support Kirk for his effort to close this loophole and not permit the sale without background checks," she said.

Mulder serves as vice chair of the Criminal Justice Committee of the US Conference of Mayors, a national organization of several hundred mayors. The loophole that concerns her allows gun dealers to sell off their inventory without performing background checks if the government revokes their firearm distribution license.

"The guns become illegal because they're sold illegally without any background checks," she explained. If a dealer loses a federal license, there are currently no legal requirements as to what can be done with the remaining inventory. She cited a shop where the previous owner sold hundreds of guns after his license was revoked. Many of the guns were later seized in the aftermath of crimes. "They ended up in the hands of gang members and known criminals," she said.

Kirk's proposal would prevent gun shop proprietors from selling their remaining inventory to unlicensed citizens. "If you had a license to sell; you should have been mandated to sell only to licensed gun owners," Mulder said. "You would have to sell to someone who ultimately would sell following the law." Mulder does not want gun control, she said. "There are a lot of really law-abiding citizens that own guns for a variety of reasons: sport or collecting," she said. "These loopholes create such a bad reputation that reflects on the law abiding citizens."

Mulder's committee in the conference supports police and homeland security issues.