NYC investigation cited in Nashville gun show debate

NASHVILLE — Nashville’s Metro-owned fairgrounds was among a handful of gun show sites nationwide where then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration six years ago sent undercover private investigators to seek to document the illegal sale of guns.

What they reported back is now being cited by members of Nashville’s Metro Board of Fair Commissioners as they defend their controversial action last week to halt future gun shows at the fairgrounds until gun show operators agree to new safety guidelines and other rules.

New York City outlined the findings of its four-month investigation in a 36-page report in a project spearheaded by Bloomberg, who for years has been one of the nation's most outspoken gun control advocates.

The investigation — one that gun enthusiasts have blasted as unfair, biased and inaccurate — consisted of sting operations at seven gun shows across the county, including Bill Goodman’s Gun and Knife Shows at the Fairgrounds Nashville on Aug. 8-9, 2009. Investigators concealed cameras in baseball caps or purses and concealed audio recording devices in their watches as they interacted with gun show vendors and set out to purchase guns.

The report cited two instances at the fairgrounds in which dealers appeared to knowingly sell guns to buyers with questionable backgrounds. The investigation also singled out four examples in which dealers appeared to sell guns to other individuals in order to allow the buyer to avoid background checks.

Evidence in the report included one video of an undercover investigator seeking to buy a gun at the Nashville fairgrounds by having a female friend fill out paperwork as part of a background check. The buyer is seen alerting the dealer that he’s seeking to avoid filling out paperwork, but the dealer checks the ID of the woman and sells the gun to her anyway.

The Bloomberg report was not mentioned by fair board members before they voted 3-0, with one member abstaining, last week to stop holding future gun shows unless gun operators agree to new safety rules. Instead, fair commissioners largely cited testimony from an assistant Davidson County district attorney, who singled out three cases she said linked guns purchased at the fairgrounds to felons.

“I was surprised not to know about it,” said fair board Chairman Ned Horton, who said he learned about the report after the vote. He’s now singling it out to defend the board’s action.

“It is a pretty solid overview of how guns can get into the hands of people who shouldn’t legally be buying them," he said.

But David Goodman, Goodman’s gun show promoter, said findings in the report are false and that dealers cited in the investigation were never found to have done anything wrong.

He argued that full video footage of sting purchases wasn’t shown, and he accused Bloomberg himself of unlawfully purchasing guns across state lines.

“That was a long time ago,” Goodman said. “We’ve already met several times with the (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) and nobody was convicted of anything. Nobody went to jail. Nothing ever happened because we weren’t doing anything wrong.”

Michael Knight, a spokesman for the ATF's Nashville division, confirmed that the agency has had meetings with Goodman but was not able to elaborate on what was discussed .

Goodman, one of two gun show operators at the fairgrounds, has said his operation goes beyond what is required by law. All vendors must be federally licensed and therefore conduct background checks that are designed to prevent sales to people who aren’t authorized to buy them, he said.

Under federal law, private sellers — who are assumed to be occasional sellers and hobbyists — aren’t required to give background checks but must not knowingly sell guns to prohibited purchasers.

The 2009 investigation of Goodman’s show at the fairgrounds found 17 federally licensed dealers and 16 private sellers out of 33 vendors that investigators tallied. Goodman said that at the time of the investigation he did not have the same federally licensed policy that he does today.

This past weekend, Bill Goodman’s Gun and Knife Shows held the final two gun shows at the Nashville fairgrounds under action taken by the fair board. The board voted to halt gun shows that are more than 30 days out until operators agree to new standards for shows. These could include signage that states gun sales require background checks, additional police security in parking lots and liability coverage paid by vendors that protects the city. Goodman has opposed many of these proposed measures.

Mayor Megan Barry, who has not taken a stand on the issue, has asked the Metro Department of Law to review the legality of the board’s action. A group of council members has introduced a resolution, set for consideration Tuesday, that would ask the fair board to overturn its action.