It’s easy to get a gun in Louisiana. It’s even easier at one of the state’s many gunshows.

Licensed firearms dealers are required to run background checks before selling, but private sellers are represented in large numbers at the expos as well, and they have no such obligation. Many think they should, and some see the laissez faire attitude as dangerous.

A July Pew Research Center poll found 85 percent of Americans — including 88 percent of of Democrats and 79 percent of Republicans — favor expanded background checks for private gun sales and at gun shows. That number has changed little from a May 2013 poll in which 81 percent of Americans supported expanded background checks.

“We strongly encourage all of our sellers to run a background check, but there’s no law requiring it,” said Al Simms, Ark-La-Tex Gun Collector’s Association president. His organization is hosting its 108th gun show this weekend at the Bossier City Civic Center.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2015/08/18/background-checks-gun-shows-say-yes/31954311/