"About.com"

[Bill of Rights]

Hi all,

Lady Di found out that "About.com" has a gun law quiz for Indiana, and challenged me to take it, so I did. I was rather dismayed to find that I missed two of them. I looked a little more closely and the questions, and how they were answered looked suspiciously familiar. As it happens, they have a quiz for each of the 50 states. Here's the one for Indiana:

http://crime.about.com/library/blgunquiz_in.htm

Oh. As for why it looks familiar?

http://www.bradycampaign.org/legislation/state/viewstate.php?st=in

I'll save you the trouble of clicking on it:

INDIANA STATE LAWS — Click On Law Below For Details

Anti-Trafficking
Is there a one-handgun-per-month limit on gun sales? No
Assault Weapons
Are there limitations on assault weapons and magazines? No
Attorney General Regulations
May Attorney General regulate guns? No
Background Check At State Level
Do state police perform a background check in addition to federal NICS check? Partial
Ballistic Fingerprinting
Must handguns be ballistic fingerprinted prior to sale? No
CCW Limits
May police limit carrying concealed handguns? No
Child Access Prevention - CAP
Are gun owners held accountable for leaving guns accessible to kids?
Partial
Child-Safety Locks
Must locking devices be sold with guns? No
Gun Manufacturer Accountability
Do cities have authority to hold gun makers legally liable? No
Gun Show Checks
Are background checks required at gun shows? No
Juvenile Possession
Are minors restricted from possessing guns? Yes
Juvenile Sale
Is it illegal to sell guns to kids? Yes
License or Permit to Purchase
Is a license/permit required to buy handguns? No
Local Gun Laws - Preemption
May cities enact laws stronger than the state's? Partial
Record Keeping
May police maintain gun sale records? Partial
Registration
Are all guns registered with law enforcement? No
Safety Standards
Are there consumer safety standards on guns? No
Safety Training
Is safety training required for handgun buyers? No
Saturday Night Specials
Are there limitations on 'junk' handguns? No
School Zones
Is it illegal for CCW permit holders to carry guns into schools? Yes
Secondary Sales
Are background checks required on 'private' gun sales? No
Waiting Period
Is there a waiting period on gun sales? No

Methinks I smell a rat.

I already wrote to NRA to request that they attempt to add some "balance" to this, considering that only the Brady Bunch "spin" is being represented. All I have so far is the auto-reply

As for the two that Lady Di and I both missed,

Must locking devices be sold with guns? No
Are background checks required at gun shows? No

Both are federal law, if I'm not mistaken, but technically, the site is correct that there is no Indiana law requiring either.

Let's just call this a great big FYI. If we were buying this info, I'd add "caveat emptor" as well.

Blessings,
M

[larryarnold]

The Texas quiz is also from the Brady playbook. The "background check at gunshows" question refers to private sales, but leaves the inference that none are conducted.

I'll try to see whether the About.com moderator is reasonable.

[MeAgain]

Quiz - Massachusetts Gun Laws

The correct answer to:

Is there a waiting period on gun sales?

is:

Yes:

there s/he is wrong

http://www.lcav.org/content/waiting_periods.pdf

there is a waiting period for the permit to be processed ( just like in any city or state )

a permit/FID is required for purchase of any guns

.