Facebook And Instagram In Talks With Gun Control Advocates Seeking To Ban Gun Sales On Social Sites

Two of the country’s most influential gun control groups are in talks with Facebook’s legal team in an effort to see gun sales banned on the world’s largest social network and its sister site Instagram. Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America has partnered with Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns to put pressure on Facebook to prohibit the private selling or trading of guns on its platforms — a practice that’s as widespread as it is unregulated. “Facebook and Instagram are enabling people to sell weapons, often with no questions asked and no background checks required,” said Mayors Against Illegal Guns’ spokesperson Erika Soto Lamb. Lamb cited a recent sting operation in Storm Lake, Iowa, where a convicted felon tried to exchange an assault rifle for a handgun via Facebook. In this case, the gun dealer was an undercover officer, and the 21-year-old felon was arrested and jailed. “This police department shed light on how easy it is for someone who is prohibited from owning a gun to procure one using social media,” she said. Lamb added that Facebook and Instagram would be joining fellow online platforms eBay, Craigslist and Google +, all of which have banned the buying, selling or trading of firearms without background checks. Legal representatives from both gun control groups have to date held a number of conference calls with Facebook’s legal team. “We’re seeing how we can work together,” she said. “They’re listening to us.”...more