Obama’s executive order on gun sales won’t affect local licensed dealers

President Barack Obama’s executive order announced Tuesday to crack down on certain gun sales nationwide won’t have much of an affect on licensed gun sellers in the Myrtle Beach area, dealers say.

The presidential order bypasses Congress on some measures and requires that occasional gun sellers be federally licensed dealers who are already required by law to conduct background checks before completing a sale.

The action is intended to combat mass shootings by requiring background checks on all gun purchases, which the president says will keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

The new order would also target internet sales, requiring those who wish to sell more than one gun undergo the rigorous process of becoming a federally licensed dealer.

Ryan Puskas, manager of Dick’s Pawn Shop on Mr. Joe White Avenue in Myrtle Beach, said the new regulations are likely to increase their business.

“We will get more people in here selling to us so they don’t get into trouble selling it elsewhere,” Puskas said “More people will sell to us than on the street, which is better than selling it to some crazy guy.”

Robert Battista, owner of 707 Gun Shop and Shooting Range, said the Obama administration needs to enforce the gun laws that are already on the books.

“He wants to target good faith sales by independent sellers. He wants to punish law-abiding citizens instead of criminals who stole guns,” Battista said.

Obama said during Tuesday’s announcement that requiring universal background checks would prevent another mass shooting like the recent terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California.

But Battista was skeptical the new order would have prevented that tragedy.

“The universal background check existed in California, and guess what, they still had a mass shooting,” Battista said.

Obama’s executive order also calls for the hiring of 200 new agents for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), although that must be approved by Congress, and the agency would establish an Internet Investigation Center to track online firearm sales.

The background check process would also include participation from the Social Security Administration, which would report beneficiaries with mental health issues that would ban them from owning a gun, according to the fact sheet distributed from the White House.

The Health and Human Services Department would also remove legal barriers so that states could report people who are prohibited from possessing a gun for specific mental health reasons to the federal background check system.

Robert Johnston, a retired New York state law enforcement officer who lives in Longs, said he doesn’t believe the executive order will infringe on Second Amendment rights, “if it’s done as presented.”

“I’m part of the 90 percent of legal gun owners who don’t have a problem doing things the right way,” Johnston said.

Even if the new law did not require him to purchase a gun through a licensed dealer, Johnston said he would insist on including one in any gun sale.

“I would rather go through somebody because I have no idea what their background is. I wouldn’t sell to Joe Blow up the street because I don’t know where they came from and I want to make sure they didn’t rob a liquor store or planned to rob another liquor store with the gun I sold them.”

Hudson can be reached at 843-444-1765

Twitter: @AudreyHudson

This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Obama’s executive order on gun sales won’t affect local licensed dealers."