Greg's Corner

‘Craigslist of guns’ shows deadly flaws in law

For all its faults, craigslist says they forbid guns from being sold on their platform. Gun sales still happen on craigslist since they don’t moderate their site, but if you want a classifieds site dedicated entirely to guns then Armslist has you covered. Armslist, which was started in 2007, is known as the craigslist of guns and allows private gun owners to sell and trade guns between themselves. While the practice is legal, in many states private gun sales do not require background checks meaning Armslist is a go to place for people who want a gun but are prohibited from owning one.

Most recently, a gun that was traded on Armslist was used in the murder of a high-ranking Chicago police officer. This is just the latest in a line of incidents where guns from Armslist were used in violent crimes. Gun control advocacy group the Brady Campaign filed a lawsuit against Armslist stating they were negligent in allowing guns to be sold to criminals but the lawsuit was thrown out on the grounds of our old friend the Communications Decency Act of 1996. So does Armslist do anything to prevent guns from falling in the hands of criminals? They do the very bare minimum by making users click a button that says they’re over 18 and they’re legally able to purchase a gun and that’s it. Users don’t have to register or provide any kind of identification.

That’s not even taking into account that Armslist users are susceptible to the same scams that proliferate on craigslist such as the fake check scam. That means that gun sellers would not only be out of the money they were hoping to get for the gun but the gun would now be out in the wild as well.

Just because something is legal, doesn’t make it right. While Armslist is operating under the letter of the law it shows how easy it is for someone to buy a gun when it’s not legal for them to do so. Making it so private sellers do not have to complete background checks is a loophole in the law that needs to be closed, but until then, Armslist will continue to take advantage of it.