GUN DEALERS CRITICIZE BILL ON BUYER CHECKS.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Gun collectors and dealers at a Glendale gun show Saturday blasted Senate legislation approved last week requiring mandatory background checks on all people who buy firearms at gun shows, saying that it targets the wrong group.

``You don't see crooks at gun shows,'' said Jerry Walter, a Los Angeles resident who manufactures gun sights. ``These legislators are going after the law-abiding citizens who buy guns and are conducting legitimate business.''

Dealers at the Glendale Gun Show, held Saturday and continuing today at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, said they support background checks but pointed out that the Senate amendment merely duplicates existing California laws. The amendment passed in a 51-50 vote after Vice President Al Gore cast the tie-breaking vote.

``These laws are just copycat laws,'' said Harold Corbin, a La Puente gun dealer. ``The problem is (the government) doesn't enforce the laws already on the books.''

Since 1993, gun show dealers in California have been required to conduct background checks on all gun purchasers. A minimum 10-day wait is required while the background check is conducted. The law was created by former Assemblywoman Paula Boland, R-Granada Hills.

``The gun show people supported that bill because here in California the gun show people truly wanted to deal firearms responsibly,'' Boland said Saturday.

Those at Saturday's event recognized that the gun show amendment, part of a broader juvenile crime bill passed by the Senate, was approved amid nationwide concern about youth violence.

``You've got to look at it in perspective,'' Corbin said. ``If one person goes out and does something wrong you can't go out and punish everyone. And that's what the politicians are trying to do.''

When incidents like the Colorado school shooting occur, the government scrambles to pass tough anti-violence legislation, but laws such as the Senate amendment don't address the real problem, Walter said.

``I've never seen a gun walk right down the street and shoot someone. It's the nut behind the gun that's the problem, not the gun,'' Walter said.

``Most of these politicians aren't going to be happy until they take all guns from the people and the only people who will be left with guns are the cops and the crooks,'' he said.

Rather than create more gun laws, Corbin said parents and schools should be more involved in children's lives to prevent violence on school campuses.

``The people who come in here, most of them are hard-working, everyday citizens,'' Corbin said. ``Gun control is good, but to a certain extent. Do background checks, but I believe the government should destroy the information once a person has been approved.''

Very rarely does a gun purchaser complain about background checks, Corbin said. Felons and those with certain misdemeanors on their records such as spousal abuse are not allowed to carry guns, Corbin said.

In the seven years that Glendale Gun Show promoter Conrad La Grasta has been organizing gun shows, background checks have never been an issue, he said.

``I don't see anything being fixed with this amendment,'' La Grasta said. ``If we got rid of guns would that solve the problem? The real question is, Why did this person use a gun, why did these kids go nuts and use guns?''

This spring, at an undercover sting operation at the Great Western Gun Show in Pomona, state agents discovered a handful of gun dealers selling weapons without performing background checks.

Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who is pushing to pass two bills that would increase gun show regulations, used the sting to argue for more regulations.

But the more gun show laws that are passed, the more it will cost taxpayers, said Ron Gaines, an antique-gun collector and dealer.

``It's going to cost millions for something that does absolutely no good,'' said Gaines, who owns a transmission shop in Glendale. ``Gun laws are really a reaction to incidents that happen in society.''