Firearms sales via "gun show loophole" thwart efforts to reduce gun violence.

LAST SPRING, A GROUP CALLED MAYors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition of US mayors who want more stringent regulation of firearm sales, unveiled a television commercial featuring clips from speeches by the 3 leading presidential candidates. In these clips, Sen Hillary Rodham Clinton (D, NY), Sen Barack Obama (D, Ill), and Sen John McCain (R, Ariz) said they oppose a “gun show loophole” that allows individuals to purchase firearms without a background check. The coalition aired the commercial to draw attention to the problem of illegal guns in US cities, where the toll from gun violence is greatest. In 2005, more than 30 000 persons in the United States died of gunshot wounds; 40% of the deaths were homicides. Nearly 70 000 more persons received care in emergency departments for nonfatal wounds, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.