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Police officer’s wife paralyzed by illegally obtained gun

Dayton police Officer John Beall, whose wife Mary died after being shot, calls for tighter restrictions.

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By Tom Beyerlein  and Lou Grieco, Staff Writers Updated 11:41 PM Wednesday, October 7, 2009

It comes as no surprise to John Beall that Bill Goodman’s Gun and Knife Show at Hara Arena has been called out by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as a source of illegal firearms sales.

Raham Twitty, the man who shot and paralyzed Beall’s wife, Dayton police Officer Mary Beall, in 2000, had obtained his M-1 SuperEnforcer illegally at a Goodman show. Mary Beall died of complications of her paralysis in 2002.

“I’m a firm proponent of the Second Amendment,” John Beall, who also is a Dayton police officer, said Wednesday, Oct. 7. “But it is true that the subject who killed my wife walked into Bill Goodman’s gun show, no questions asked, while under indictment (and purchased the gun).

“I think the United States Congress would be doing society a favor if they either closed these gun shows or put tight restrictions on them. It caused tragedy in my family.”

Gun show promoter Dave Goodman, son of founder Bill Goodman, did not return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.

Hara spokeswoman Karen Wampler said “we are not aware of any violations involving the licensed dealers at the Dayton show.”

“If there is evidence of dealer wrongdoing, it should be immediately turned over to the ATF, at which time the promoter of the show, Dave Goodman, assures us that he will immediately and irrevocably remove the violator from the show,” Wampler said.

The New York City-funded investigation, Gun Show Undercover, found violations of federal gun laws at seven gun shows in three states, including the Goodman show at Hara.

In a statement, Bloomberg said the report will be sent to every member of Congress in an effort to close the so-called “gun show loophole,” which allows criminals to evade background checks by seeking out private, non-licensed sellers at gun shows.

“It’s just one more piece of evidence that it’s way too easy for felons and other prohibited persons to illegally obtain weapons,” said Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, based in Washington, D.C. “Mayor Bloomberg should be applauded for bringing this to the attention of Congress. This (legislation) needs to get done.” He said legislation to close the loophole is pending in both the House and Senate.

The National Rifle Association has long denied the existence of a gun show loophole, saying most gun show dealers are licensed sellers who are required to run background checks.

“Anyone who violates the law is going to get no sympathy from the NRA,” said spokeswoman Vickie Cieplak. But she said “we already have existing law to address this issue,” and accused Bloomberg of using the investigation for “grandstanding in front of the media.”

John Feinblatt, criminal justice coordinator for the mayor’s office, said the investigation was done because “90 percent of our crime guns come from out of state.”

Feinblatt said gun shows, where licensed and unlicensed dealers compete for sales, create “an environment where even licensed dealers are going to take the easy way out.” He said investigators chose Ohio because it is known as an exporter of guns to other states.

Ohio ranked seventh in the nation, and first in the Midwest, for illegal interstate gun-running, according to a 2003 study released by Americans for Gun Safety. A December 2000 Dayton Daily News series entitled Ohio: The Gunrunner’s Paradise found that Ohio trailed only Florida, Georgia, Virginia and Texas as the sales point of guns used in out-of-state crimes.

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