November 2005

The Newspaper Loophole?

Austin man who placed classifieds sentenced for illegal gun sales

On Nov. 1, Hen-Jen “Andrew” Wu was sentenced to three years in federal prison for illegally selling more than 60 guns in the Austin area.

The case sounds straight-forward, right? But it actually is an alert for newspapers statewide.

Wu was caught in a sting set up by federal agents who responded to classified ads he placed in the Austin American-Statesman.

Between Feb. 11, 2004, and June 9, 2005, Wu placed about 20 classified ads in the newspaper to sell guns. He arranged to meet buyers in a North Austin parking lot, the newspaper reported.

No problem so far because individuals selling guns from personal collections to other individuals are not required to conduct background checks on purchasers.

But Wu sold several guns to felons who were prevented by law from owning them, and three guns eventually were used in crimes, one in Dallas and two in Austin, according to court documents the American-Statesman obtained.

To compound the case Wu is a Taiwanese immigrant who was living in an Austin suburb on a visa secured through his job as a civil engineer. The visa prevented him from owning guns. Wu will be deported after his prison sentence, the American-Statesman reported.

The case pinpoints the danger of what some advocates call a newspaper loophole.

In September the Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole sent Texas Press Association an information packet describing the above case and similar incidents nationwide — one in Illinois and one in Florida that led to homicides committed with guns purchased through newspaper classified ads.

“The issue is not guns, but the way that guns are sold,” John Johnson, the campaign’s national coordinator, wrote. “Unlike licensed firearms dealers, private sellers have no way of conducting background checks on their buyers, thus, the classifieds provide opportunities for persons who are prohibited by law from possessing firearms to evade a background check and illegally buy guns. The classifieds also provide a venue for gun traffickers to illegally sell guns without a license to do so.”

The group is working to raise awareness among newspaper publishers and is asking newspapers to adopt a policy of only accepting firearm advertising from licensed dealers.

So far about 10 newspapers in Texas, including The Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle and The Canadian Record, as well as about 200 others nationwide have changed their policies.

The American-Statesman accepts all firearms advertising, the newspaper reported in its Nov. 2 issue.

In August the daily received a letter from Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, which coordinates the national loophole campaign, urging a policy change. Publisher Mike Laosa said he gave the group’s request “careful consideration” and decided against changing the paper’s policy.

The Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole started in 2001 after Benjamin Nathaniel Smith in July 1999 went on a shooting rampage, killing two and wounding nine, with two guns he purchased through a classified ad in the Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star. He tried to purchase the guns three days earlier from a federally licensed gun dealer but failed a background check.

For information about the Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole log onto www.gunloophole.com/ or www.ipgv.org/.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has an online search engine to verify if a federal firearms license is valid. Log onto www.atf.gov/firearms/.