WASHINGTON – The country's most powerful gun rights lobbying group has reversed its decade-old stance on requiring instant background checks for people buying guns at gun shows.

"We think it's reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show," Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, said in 1999 after the Columbine High School shooting in suburban Denver. "No loopholes anywhere for anyone."

But now, LaPierre says gun laws requiring background checks are ineffective at keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.