Prevent Gun Trafficking
What does it solve?
The United States lacks strong federal gun trafficking laws to crack down on illegal gun trafficking networks. Congress should pass robust gun trafficking and straw purchasing laws to help keep guns off our streets.
In addition, a loophole that enables many gun sellers to evade the licensed dealer system allows unlicensed sellers to sell high volumes of guns without background checks. Some of these guns are later trafficked into other states and recovered at crime scenes. This loophole should be closed by statute or ATF regulation. States can also help prevent gun trafficking by requiring gun owners to report lost and stolen guns to law enforcement.
Lost & Stolen Gun Reporting
Which states require reporting of lost and stolen guns?
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Alabama has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Alaska has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Arizona has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Arkansas has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
California has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Colorado has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Connecticut has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Delaware has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Florida has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Georgia has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Hawaii has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Idaho has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Illinois has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Indiana has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Iowa has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Kansas has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Kentucky has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Louisiana has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Maine has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Maryland has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Massachusetts has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Michigan has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Minnesota has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Mississippi has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Missouri has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Montana has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Nebraska has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Nevada has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
New Hampshire has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
New Jersey has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
New Mexico has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
New York has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
North Carolina has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
North Dakota has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Ohio has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Oklahoma has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Oregon has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Rhode Island has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
South Carolina has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
South Dakota has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Tennessee has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Texas has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Utah has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Vermont has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Virginia has adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Washington has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
West Virginia has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Wisconsin has not adopted this policy
Lost and Stolen Reporting
Wyoming has not adopted this policy
Myth & Fact
Myth
Fact
How it works
Congress should pass legislation to create strong, enforceable federal gun trafficking crimes.
The U.S. does not have a federal gun trafficking crime. Prosecutors who want to fight traffickers must rely on a weak law that prohibits selling guns without a federal license which carries the same punishment as trafficking chicken or livestock, or a law that prohibits making a false statement about “any fact material” regarding the legality of a sale when a person acts a straw purchaser, passing the firearm off to another person after buying it.
Federal law requires any gun seller who is “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms to get a federal firearms license and run background checks on their buyers. But the term “engaged in the business” has been poorly defined by regulation. It is not always clear which sellers are required to become licensed dealers, making it difficult to prosecute a violation of the law. In practice, unlicensed sellers are offering guns online at extremely high volumes without running background checks on buyers. Many of these guns are recovered at crime scenes in states with strong gun laws.
Congress should pass federal legislation creating strong, enforceable federal gun trafficking and straw purchasing crimes. The federal government should also clarify—whether by statute or ATF regulation—which gun sellers must obtain dealer licenses and follow background check laws. People who offer sales at high volumes should be presumed to be not hobbyists, but rather engaged in the business of dealing in firearms. They must either register as a dealer or else demonstrate that they are selling from a personal collection.
One way that states can help combat gun trafficking is by requiring a person to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement. Lost and stolen guns account for a large share of firearms that are illegally trafficked and involved in firearm crimes. Laws requiring that these guns be reported to law enforcement are associated with significant reductions in gun trafficking. Requiring lost and stolen guns to be reported to law enforcement deters illegal gun trafficking by allowing police to respond more quickly to gun thefts and helping police identify tracking patterns.
By the numbers
99k
Over a five-year period, more than 99,000 traced crime guns were purchased with the intent to traffic them.
64%