Reply #6: Then perhaps some of those people should be prosecuted.

[benEzra]

One would think that if the gun control lobby cared about prosecuting "straw purchases" 1/10th as much as they care about restricting aboveboard purchases, it would be easy to get movement on that issue. How much money and political capital has the Brady Campaign spent arguing for prosecution of straw purchasers, compared to what they've spent fighting to outlaw rifle handgrips and magazines that stick out?

Instead, the straw purchase issue seems to me to be more relegated to foot-in-the-door status as a means to prop up registration, new bans on lawful purchase/ownership of various guns, shutting down gun shows, or whatever.

And straw purchases are, in fact, generally illegal, and one would think that if the intended end user was a criminal, then the GCA would definitely apply. Not sure how these guys managed to avoid that, whether by good lawyers or by a case that was flimsier than was let on.