Gun trafficking is closely related to straw buyers. The latter is defined as an illegal firearm
purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal
background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the
transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to
purchase the firearm for him/her. You
can see a list of those prohibited to purchase a gun here. It is illegal to sell to these people but in
many cases it is even done through a small number of corrupt federal firearms
dealers.
According to the Brady Campaign,
only 1 % of gun dealers account for almost 60 % of crime guns recovered by
police. But 94% of licensed dealers
approached by undercover stings at gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada sold
to individuals who appeared to be criminals or straw purchasers. 34% of crime guns recovered in 1999 (last
year data available, had been purchased from a new gun dealer within the last 3
years, indicating to the ATF that the guns had been trafficked. 40% of all U.S. gun sales are without
background checks.
There is no federal law against buying a gun from a dealer today
and selling it to someone else tomorrow.
The Federal Observer says, “Although the
maximum federal penalty for participating in a straw purchase is a 10-year
prison term, in practice sentencing guidelines call for only 2 to 2 1/2 years'
imprisonment for someone caught providing as many as a dozen guns to a
convicted felon. That's half the mandatory (5-year) minimum for possession of 5
grams of crack cocaine.” Some gun
control advocates favor limiting purchases to one handgun per month.
Continuing, “The so-called straw purchase of guns is ‘the
most significant factor in gun trafficking, without any question,’ said Jack
Killorin, director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' Atlanta
field division. As an example, in a
straw purchase, the two shotguns and a rifle used in the 1999 Columbine High
School carnage were bought by Dylan Klebold’s 18-year-old girlfriend. Klebold was too young at age 17. According to Bureau of Justice statistics,
40% of criminals obtain firearms from friends or family.
Sen. Kristen Killibrand introduces gun trafficking law:
From the Brady Campaign’s first
report of Gun Industry Watch, Without A Trace, it exposes how the gun lobby,
working with the Bush Administration and its allies in Congress, had protected
corrupt gun dealers by systematically blocking the release of information
identifying the gun dealers responsible for selling most of the crime guns
recovered in America. The Action Council’s Fact Sheet on gun victims provides more startling answers to why the
government is so constrained in efforts to curb gun violence:
Until 2002, the ATF released
aggregate crime gun trace reports to local police departments, researchers,
policymakers and public safety advocates.
Then Congress voted to restrict police access to crime gun trace data
and cut off public access altogether. These restrictions, known as the Tiahrt
Amendments (named for the Kansas Congressman who sponsored the bill), have
passed in every Department of Justice budget since 2003, despite the fact that
prominent law enforcement associations oppose them as a serious threat to
public safety.
The ATF, the sole government agency
charged with enforcing federal gun laws, has operated without a permanent
director since the Bush Administration, and operates with just 1,800 agents to
monitor approximately 77,000 gun dealers. Given these constraints, it would
take ATF 22 years to inspect all federally licensed gun dealers. Even if the
ATF had the manpower to inspect most gun dealers, federal law limits the agency
to a single unannounced inspection of a dealer in any 12-month period. Congress
has made it increasingly difficult for the ATF to revoke licenses of crooked
gun dealers.
It is impossible for law
enforcement to know the whereabouts of millions of firearms in circulation
today because Federal law explicitly bars the ATF from establishing a database
of retail firearms sales, and private gun sellers are not required to keep a
paper trail of transactions. Prior to 2001, federal authorities maintained
criminal background check records for up to six months. Under President Bush,
Attorney General John Ashcroft reversed this policy and ordered the destruction
of all criminal background check records within 24 hours. Even though the
General Accounting Office found that destroying these records endangers public
safety, the policy remains in effect.
Thirdway.org says, “In 9 of
10 gun crimes, the gun was not used by the original purchaser. Felons and gun runners exploit the
unregulated private market—the denial rate has plummeted to 1.53% despite the
fact that the background check system is far better today than 15 years ago. And 92% of background checks are completed
within minutes.” So what’s the
problem? With the combination of
universal background checks and sending people like Klebold’s girlfriend to
prison for 20 years could at least put a dent in gun violence.
And now to counter this gun insanity, 2 Democrats and 2
Republicans have taken the first bipartisan step toward new gun restrictions by
introducing a bill in the House of Representatives to crack down on gun
trafficking to criminals. Carolyn
Maloney, New York Democrat, along with Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the other
Democrat, and Republicans Patrick Meehan of Pennsylvania and Scott Rigell of
Virginia. The bill would strengthen
penalties on "straw purchasers," who buy guns for those who are
barred by law from buying their own weapons.
Reuters quotes Cummings re. The Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2012, "We have a message for our colleagues in the House. This bill simply makes sense. Law enforcement officials have asked for it. It will make a significant difference in combating gun crime. And it will not affect the rights of a single legitimate gun owner." I can just hear the head gun nut of the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), Wayne LaPierre, right now. He has a message for Cummings, and promptly trots out the NRA’s clichéd, stagnant and tiring stand on an out-of-date 2nd Amendment. Pathetic.
