By Amanda Raymond

amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com

Brandon Cupp, owner of Cerberus Firearms on Jake Alexander Boulevard, said his wife Ashleigh pretty much runs the local gun show.

They used to hold the gun show in Lexington, but had to move the show to Salisbury because of a gun sale that happened in the parking lot of the show. One person bought a gun from an unlicensed seller and then got charged with possession of a stolen firearm when he went back home to Florida.

At their gun shows now, the deputies who help with security are told to watch the parking lot to help keep all gun sales inside the building.

“To my knowledge, of the approximately 125 tables that we sell, all the gun dealers are licensed,” Cupp said.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama rolled out executive actions to help decrease the instances of gun violence in the country.

Incidents of gun violence have shaken communities around the country, from the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 to the San Bernardino, California shooting that occurred in early December.

The president even wiped away tears as he talked about the children who died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that occurred in 2012.

Obama said he would broaden the definition of gun dealers and better enforce background checks.

The executive action would require anyone who sells firearms to be licensed and conduct background checks, in hopes to close the loophole that allows individuals to sell guns at gun shows, flea markets and over the Internet without conducting background checks.

According to a fact sheet on the White House website, the FBI is working to make the background check system more effective and efficient and will hire 230 new examiners and other staff to help process background checks.

Mark Emami, owner of E Z Pawn & Jewelry on Main Street, said he had no problem with the background checks and agreed with requiring anyone selling guns to be licensed.

“(Licensed gun dealers) go through a lot of rules and regulations, and we have to do everything by the book,” he said. “It’s not right and it’s not fair for them just to go ahead and sell whatever they want without any restrictions.”

Thomas Flickinger, manager of E Z Pawn & Jewelry, said he also agreed with the enforcement of background checks.

“I think they should investigate a little bit more (because of) the way this world is coming to,” he said.

Emami said the executive actions would not affect the amount of work licensed sellers had to do because it would be the federal government agencies doing most of it.

“It doesn’t make our job any harder,” Emami said. “Everything has to be done on the other side. We are basically the in-between guys.”

Cupp, atCerberus Firearms, said he felt like the background check process that is in effect right now is sufficient.

“The problem I see is the mental health issues not getting reported to the federal level from the state levels,” he said.

Mental health

The president talked about increasing the availability of mental health services, including a proposal for a $500 million investment to increase access.

The Social Security Administration has indicated that it will amend the background check system to include information about individuals who are denied guns because of mental health issues.

And the Department of Health and Human Services is in the final stages of unveiling a rule to take away the legal barriers that prevent the states from reporting information about individuals who are prohibited from having a gun because of specific mental health reasons.

Both Cupp and Emami said they have refused sales when they thought the buyer was mentally unfit to have a firearm.

“If you raise the red flag, I don’t have to sell to you,” Cupp said.

Division among congressional representatives

Like other members of Congress, those from North Carolina were divided largely along party lines on their opinions of the president’s announcement, including those representing Rowan County.

Reps. Richard Hudson, R-8, and Virginia Foxx, R-5, characterized Obama’s proposal to increase background checks scrutiny on gun dealers as an “effort to unconstitutionally restrict one of our most fundamental rights” and “another attempt to erode our basic liberties.”

Hudson said a failed effort to pass gun control measures in the Senate resulted in Obama’s unilateral executive action.

“The president should listen to the American people and work with Congress on efforts that would actually reduce violence, like confronting our mental health crises and preventing criminals and terrorists from entering our country,” Hudson said.

In past statements, Republican members of Congress have also mentioned a need to address mental health issues, which Obama’s executive action does address.

Foxx said Obama’s action undermines the will of Congress, where Republicans have majorities in both houses.

Rep. Alma Adams, D-12, was Rowan’s lone member of Congress who spoke positively about Obama’s measures. In a news release, Adams’ office said more than 170 felons, 50 domestic abusers and 20 fugitives are prevented from buying guns every day when background checks are used.

“Far too many innocent lives have been taken at the hands of guns,” Adams said. “I applaud President Obama for this historic step to curb gun violence in our country. The president’s action not only helps strengthen the background check system but fuels research to make guns safer, expands mental health services and helps keep illegal guns off the streets.”

The new rules won’t be a cure-all, say people in the business.

Even with the executive actions, Cerberus Firearms owner Cupp said he does not think there is any real way to regulate individual to individual gun sales.

“It’s a battle that’s been going on for a long time and there’s just not an easy solution to fixing the sales that don’t take place with a federally licensed firearms dealer involved,” Cupp said.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.