While the Biden administration has talked a big game about cracking down on arms dealers who are violating the law, one individual who was investigated under the Trump administration is now facing years in prison as a result of illegal firearm sales.
Joseph John Deaser IV was considered to be a model arms dealer by the political left, he advocated for universal background checks and other “common sense” measures to ensure the safety of the community. Deaser ran a moderately sized gun store in the state of California and has even spoken before the California Legislature and Congress but his presence in the media now has to do with crimes he has committed.
Deaser pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing the identities of several law enforcement agents and using that information to abuse loopholes in federal regulations involving the sale and transfer of firearms. Deaser used his position as the owner of a gun club to con several officers into giving up their personal information, when it came time to fill out paperwork he would then use his middle finger as opposed to his thumb as to not get caught.
Federal Judge Troy L. Nunley made sure to comment on Deaser’s past activism in respect to his recent actions. “I think it’s totally acceptable to, on the one hand, look at the things he’s done, but on the other hand, look at the life he was living behind the scenes… On the one hand, he was … advocating for sensible gun laws before Congress, before local governments, before organizations, and on the other side of it, he was trying to circumvent those very same gun laws.” said Judge Troy L. Nunley.
Interestingly, this crime only occurred because of the laws in place in California. In the state of California, citizens are only entitled to purchase certain handguns that have all been approved by the state, law enforcement officials are allowed to get handguns that are not on the official list. The reason Deaser stole the identities of these men was so he could sell these other handguns to customers. This two-tiered system is only made worse by the fact that the state has not approved any new handgun on the market in the past decade.
While Deaser broke the law and needs to be held accountable for doing so, there would be no reason to commit a crime if the laws in the state were reasonable.
