Dealers at a gun show in Columbus this summer sold firearms to undercover investigators who were posing as buyers who couldn't pass background checks, according to an investigation of seven U.S. gun shows by New York City leaders.

The report said the July 11-12 gun show at Westland Mall was typical of the seven: private gun sellers didn't halt sales even when prospective buyers said they'd fail a background check, and a licensed dealer let someone else take a background exam for the intended gun owner.

Private sellers aren't required to administer background checks, but they are forbidden by federal law from selling firearms to people they suspect would fail. Background checks are required of licensed dealers. Gun shows typically contain a mix of both types of sellers.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an advocate of stricter gun regulation, hired private investigators to attempt to make purchases at gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada.

In addition to the Westland Mall show, Bloomberg's undercover team went to Ohio gun shows in Niles, Sharonville and Trotwood.

Bloomberg thinks people who never could legally purchase guns from stores are walking out of gun shows with weapons often used in crimes. He said he plans to use the results of his study to persuade lawmakers to pass tougher regulations on purchases made at gun shows.

"The gun-show loophole is a deadly serious problem -- and this undercover operation exposes just how pervasive and serious it is," Bloomberg said in a statement.

The National Rifle Association accused Bloomberg of media grandstanding and said there already are laws intended to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, including those who would go to gun shows.

"Anyone who knowingly violates the law will not get an ounce of sympathy from the NRA," spokeswoman Rachel Parsons told The Dispatch. "They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

At Westland Mall, undercover investigators attempted to buy guns from private sellers -- defined as people who sell guns occasionally and don't have to perform background checks -- six times. The investigators told the sellers that they "probably" couldn't pass a background check. In five of the six cases, the vendor sold the gun anyway, risking a federal charge, according to the New York report.

In the seven gun shows visited by undercover investigators, people were able to buy firearms in 19 of 30 attempts after admitting their backgrounds would preclude a legal sale, the report said.

Investigators also attempted to make a "straw" purchase from a licensed firearms dealer at the same mall show. In that case, a male "customer" discusses and tests the gun with the dealer and then has a female companion take the background check in his place. The dealer allowed the "straw" purchase to happen, the report said.

In 16 of 17 attempted "straw" sales at all seven shows, gun dealers allowed the proxy to take the background check.

The Westland Mall gun show was sponsored by C&E Gun Shows, a Virginia-based company that frequently organizes gun shows in Ohio, including one planned for this weekend in Wilmington and another Westland Mall show at month's end.

C&E Gun Shows did not return calls from The Dispatch. Westland Mall management could not be reached.

State lawmakers have not addressed the issue of easier gun purchases at shows. Attorney General Richard Cordray's office noted that federal, not state, law speaks to the issue.

"Obviously (the report) points out a situation that is problematic," said Rep. Ted Celeste, D-Grandview Heights, whose district includes Westland. "The whole issue of having the background checks is to avoid having the guns get in the wrong hands. The gun-show loophole is real, as this points out."

Gun-rights supporters say there is no need for more laws.

"No one condones gun sellers breaking the law," said Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association. "But the argument that there is a loophole is not correct. If current laws were enforced, there wouldn't be a problem."

Gov. Ted Strickland, who is strongly backed by the NRA, is not calling for a new law.

"The governor believes this is an enforcement issue," Strickland spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said. "The laws on the books should be more tightly enforced."

Dispatch reporter Mark Niquette contributed to this story.

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