The battle to clamp down on gun shows began in earnest last year, after the shootings of 26 Columbine High School students in Littleton, Colorado on April 19, 1999. It was revealed that the guns then used by the two teen-age murderers had been legally purchased by adults at a gun show.

A loophole in current gun control laws allows purchases at guns shows without the background checks that are required for gun purchasers in most states. One month after the Columbine massacre, legislation to close this loophole passed in the Senate but failed in the House after a heavy effort by the gun lobby. At this year's State of the Union address in January, President Clinton announced a stricter proposal that would require gun buyers at these shows to pass safety courses and undergo three day background checks for criminal records before purchasing handguns at gun shows.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) and other guns rights groups argue that the three-day waiting period proposed for these shows is unconstitutional and would slow weapons sales, since the background checks would last longer than the show itself.

On One Hand...

Waiting periods and background checks are part of an effort by Congress to put gun shows out of business. While criminals rarely purchase their weapons at these shows, the waiting periods will penalize millions of law-abiding gun-users in the U.S. Recent estimates indicate that only 10 percent of the guns used in violent crimes in the U.S. are purchased at gun shows.

Gun control efforts should target those who violate the laws, not those who observe them. Instead of focusing on gun shows, which offer a perfectly legitimate forum for selling weapons, Congress should concentrate on passing "Three-Strikes" and "Mandatory Minimums" laws, which discourage crime by cracking down on criminals and repeat offenders.

On the Other Hand...

In 1996, over 14, 000 Americans died in gun-related homicides. Gun shows have always offered a way for "straw purchasers" to funnel weapons into the hands of criminals. Waiting periods and background checks for gun shows will make it more difficult for guns to get into the hands of violent criminals. The inconvenience of a background check at these shows is a small price to pay, if the stricter controls will save lives. The NRA argues that this violates the rights of gun owners, but ultimately President Clinton's new proposals would not make gun ownership any more complicated than getting a drivers' license.

• The 1996 firearms death rate among male teenagers aged 15 to 19 (36.3 per 100,000) was nearly three times higher than the firearms death rate among all Americans (12.9 per 100,000).

• "Straw purchasers" are legal gun buyers who are acting as surrogates for the criminal who wants the gun. Straw purchases have been federal felonies since 1968.

• A February 1999 report by the ATF found approximately 10 percent of the guns used in crimes by juveniles and children were sold at gun shows and flea markets.

• Between 2,000 and 5,000 gun shows are held annually in the United States each year.

Center to Prevent Gun Violence, NRA, Newsweek, CNN