I agree. Illegal straw purchases need to be stopped. But the W. Virginia pol would probably say that just as NY politicians would not appreciate W. Virginia sending private investigators to look at financial crimes of Wall Street or that sheriff in Maricopa county, Arizona sending his people to shine the light on illegal immigrants in Manhattan, some people in W. Virginia don't want anyone short of the BATF or appropriate W. Virginia authorities investigating criminal gun sales in W. Virginia. Even if it's done for a good reason it rubs some folks the wrong way.

I think this pol is likely owned by the NRA, which certainly doesn't want any additional investigations/restrictions on gun show sales. The fact that it's Bloomberg directing this muddies the issue and allows it to be more easily framed as a jurisdiction issue.

It's like if there's a bratty kid acting up in a store and someone besides the parent gives it a talking to or something. Whether or not the kid was in the wrong, many parents simply won't tolerate someone else interfering. I think that's the sort of emotion behind this proposal.