Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Mormon Church owns one of most active gun sale sites on web, according to Mayor Bloomberg report

More than 2,300 guns listed for sale on KSL.com

Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 1:23 AM
Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivers his fiscal year 2013 budget at City Hall Thursday afternoon. (Craig Warga/New York Daily News)

Craig Warga/New York Daily News

An undercover investigation released in December by Mayor Bloomberg’s office named Mormon Church-owned website the third most active gun listings site on the Internet.

The Mormon Church in Salt Lake City owns one of the most active and unregulated gun sale portals on the web, according to a new report.

An undercover investigation released in December by Mayor Bloomberg’s office named KSL.com the third most active gun listings site on the Internet.

The online hub came under scrutiny Monday when the news website Buzzfeed revealed Deseret Media Companies, the for-profit arm of the Mormon Church, operates it.

The mayor’s report said the site — where 1,327 handguns and 1,003 rifles were listed for sale Monday — allows buyers and sellers to complete a gun sale without identifying themselves.

Undercover agents performed “integrity checks” on the site, trying to buy guns while declaring openly that they could not pass a legit background check.

In eight of 12 attempts, the seller happily sold the gun to the shady buyer .

“It’s very easy for websites to take simple steps to make sales safe,” said a spokesman for Bloomberg.