Last N.Y. Suits Against Va. Dealers Settled

Cases Aimed to Curtail Influx of Weapons Obtained Through Straw Purchasers

New York City sees the settlement of the last of its lawsuits against 27 gun dealers in five states, including Virginia, as a victory for gun control.

The last Virginia dealer to settle the litigation calls it a draw.

"It's the best deal we could come up with under the circumstances -- not that we did anything wrong," Richmond gun dealer Robert Moates said yesterday.

The case began two years ago when New York targeted out-of-state gun dealers whose weapons had been traced to crimes in the city. After sending private undercover investigators to purchase guns illegally from those stores, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg directed the city to file lawsuits in federal court in New York that accused the shops of failing to follow regulations designed to stop "straw purchases." These occur when a person who is entitled to buy a firearm purchases the weapon for someone who is barred by law from owning firearms.

Many Virginia gun owners were infuriated and rose to the defense of the dealers, holding a "Bloomberg Gun Giveaway" raffle in Fairfax County in May 2007 to drive business into their stores and fund their legal defense. Virginia Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell threatened felony charges against Bloomberg and his agents.

Since then, the cases against 21 dealers, including Moates, have been settled, three will probably be subjected to default judgments and three have been dismissed by mutual agreement, according to a city spokesman.

Moates, who owns Bob Moates' Sport Shop Inc. in suburban Richmond, was the last holdout of 21 dealers to reach a settlement with the city. Unlike the others, he resisted the city's efforts to have his operations monitored by a court-appointed special master.

Under the formal agreement signed Sept. 17, Moates agreed to a new "collaborative approach" developed by Mayors Against Illegal Guns and discount retailer Wal-Mart to track gun purchases more closely and retain records of gun buyers longer.

The agreement says New York will pay Moates to upgrade his videotape surveillance system, keep videos of all purchases for six months and use a new computerized tracking system that alerts retailers about inquiries by law enforcement into a customer's previous gun purchases.

Moates also agreed to accept only federal- or state-issued photo identification, use an electronic verification system to ensure their authenticity, conduct criminal background checks on employees and train employees to spot straw sales. He also agreed to conduct weekly and semiannual audits of his inventory and prohibit "default proceed" purchases. These occur when customers are permitted to buy a weapon when their background checks fail to return any result within three days.

Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, sent a posting to members that gloated, "Moates walked away with not only minor changes to how he does business, but with a new and expensive security system paid for by New York tax payers!"

Van Cleave also said the agreement does not jeopardize gun buyers' privacy, as his members believe the special master will. This group and other gun owners boycotted Cole's Gun Shop in South Boston, Va., because its owner agreed to turn over records to the special master. That shop has gone out of business, Van Cleave said.

Moates said he settled because he has spent at least $13,000 on lawyers.

"The cost of going up there and fighting the thing wouldn't be worth it," Moates said. "When you think you're right, you fight for your side. But when it becomes a financial burden -- a lot of stress over a lot of stuff you don't have any control over . . . "

The city was not gloating.

"We got what we wanted," city spokesman Jason Post said. "They changed their practices. All we wanted was for them to obey the law."

Post, a spokesman for the city, said the costs are minimal -- perhaps as little as $300 for a hard drive to store the data longer, to as much as $2,000.