The New York Cop Killer Was Arrested 19 Times. Why Was He Able to Get a Gun

newrepublic.com: It’s likely that Brinsely’s gun came from outside the state, too. Though New York and Maryland require background checks on all gun sales, the black market in both is “fueled by weaker gun laws on secondary market sales in other states,” says Arkadi Gerney, a gun violence expert at the Center for American Progress. In such cases, a would-be shooter can buy weapons at gun shows or from private sellers, no questions asked. Such a sale could occur in front of a police officer, out of the trunk of a car, and the officer would have no grounds to interrupt. It should be harder.