Al-Qaida could exploit U.S. gun shows, spokesman says

RICHMOND

Advocates for stricter gun laws are citing an unlikely source as they try to advance their agenda: the al-Qaida terrorist group.

In a recently released Web video, al-Qaida spokesman Adam Gadahn tells supporters in the West they are "perfectly placed" to do "major damage to the enemies of Islam" and suggests one way to do that is to acquire deadly weapons.

"America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms," Gadahn says in the clip. "You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle without a background check, and most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for?"

The comments by Gadahn, an American spokesman for al-Qaida, refer to the so-called gun-show loophole, a flash point in the debate over gun rights in Virginia and beyond.

Gun-control advocates, including parents of students injured and killed in the April 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, have unsuccessfully lobbied the General Assembly to require background checks of prospective buyers before a private party can sell them firearms at a gun show.

Under current state law, licensed weapons dealers are required to perform background checks.

Seizing on the video, a coalition of organizations led by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sent a letter Tuesday to the White House urging President Barack Obama to order a review of ways to reduce "the firepower available on the civilian gun market, to tighten existing laws regulating the gun industry, and to improve the background check system to make it harder for those with terrorist ties to obtain firearms."

Noting that only nine states have background-checklaws for private sales, the group wants a national standard.

Brady Campaign president Paul Helmke said the video of a terrorist "telling his folks there is basically a free-for-all arms bazaar" in America should serve as a wake-up call to lawmakers that there are cracks in existing gun laws.

Gun-rights advocates had a decidedly different take on the al-Qaida message.

Shenandoah County Republican Del. Todd Gilbert chided gun-control groups like the Brady Campaign for exploiting the statements of a murderous organization to advance a political agenda.

"Since there are groups in the world like that who want to kill us and destroy our way of life and our freedoms, I would think it's all the more reason to embrace the freedoms we hold dear, not the least of which is the right to defend ourselves from the likes of them," said Gilbert, who serves on the House of Delegates subcommittee where past gun-show loophole measures have met their demise.

Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said one obvious flaw in the al-Qaida video is the inaccurate claim about buying automatic weapons.

"Machine guns cannot be purchased anywhere in the United States without going through a detailed and lengthy background check, paying a $200 tax, and notifying local law enforcement," he said. "Additionally, in Virginia the gun would then have to be registered with the state within 24 hours."

Van Cleave acknowledged "nothing can stop a determined terrorist from getting a gun" through illegal or lawful means.

"One can never ignore such threats," he said, "but we should not be running to dump our civil liberties overboard, either. The more armed the populace is, the quicker a lone wolf, if one pops up, could be put down."

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com