Grassley prefers criminals escape the 'system'

I heard Sen. Chuck Grassley on television (April 17) tell the nation from the Senate floor that he had been part of the minority that stalled the gun purchase background check legislation, with a cowardly filibuster, and that he had done it because “criminals do not submit to background checks.” That is the most ignorant and erroneous statement I have ever heard.

As an National Rifle Association member and someone who has purchased at least 15 firearms in the past 12 months, from retail store dealers and from sellers at gun shows, and from Internet sellers, I have participated willingly in completing all required paperwork related to firearm purchases. Apparently, Sen. Grassley knows only what his paymasters at Smith and Wesson tell him.

Criminals do not have to “submit” to a background check if they use the current loopholes that Grassley supports. He has voted to ensure that criminals won't have their backgrounds checked if, for example, they simply want to continue to buy firearms in the parking lot outside of a gun show. Apparently, Grassley prefers that criminals, and others who have demonstrated that they should not buy a firearm, continue to escape the “system.”

Doug Tindal

Washington