Current:Home > ScamsFederal report finds 68,000 guns were illegally trafficked through unlicensed dealers over 5 years-LoTradeCoin
Federal report finds 68,000 guns were illegally trafficked through unlicensed dealers over 5 years
View Date:2024-12-23 21:13:03
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 68,000 illegally trafficked firearms in the U.S. came through unlicensed dealers who aren’t required to perform background checks over a five-year period, according to new data released Thursday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.
That represents 54% of the illegally trafficked firearms in the U.S. between 2017 and 2021, Justice Department officials said. The guns were used in 368 shooting cases, which are harder to investigate because unlicensed dealers aren’t required to keep records of their sales that could allow federal agents to trace the weapon back to the original buyer, said ATF Director Steve Dettelbach.
The report ordered by Attorney General Merrick Garland is the first in-depth analysis of firearm trafficking investigations in more than 20 years. It examined more than 9,700 closed ATF firearm trafficking investigations that began between 2017 and 2021. Firearms trafficking is when guns are purposely moved into the illegal market for a criminal purpose or possession.
The second-highest share of firearm-trafficking cases investigated by ATF was straw purchases, when someone buys a gun for a person who can’t get it legally themselves.
The report also shows that the recipients of trafficked firearms were people who had previously been convicted of a felony in almost 60 percent of the cases in which investigators were able to identify the background of the recipient. Furthermore, trafficked firearms were used to commit additional crimes in almost 25 percent of the cases, Dettelbach said. That includes more than 260 murders and more than 220 attempted murders, according to the report.
“The data shows, therefore, that those who illegally traffic firearms whether its out of a trunk, at a gun show or online are responsible for real violence in this nation,” Dettelbach said. “In short, you can’t illegally help to arm nonviolent people and not be responsible for the violence that follows,” he said.
The report found the average number of guns trafficked per case was 16. People who got them through unlicensed dealers bought 20 weapons on average, compared to 11 guns for straw buyers, according to the report.
The Biden administration has separately proposed a rule that would require thousands more gun sellers to get licensed and run background checks. The Justice Department says it’s aimed at sellers who are in the business of firearm sales, but the proposal quickly drew protest from gun-rights groups who contend it could ensnare regular people who sometimes sell their own guns.
veryGood! (6368)
Related
- Republican Vos reelected as Wisconsin Assembly speaker despite losing seats, fights with Trump
- ‘Nobody Needs to Know’ by Pidgeon Pagonis, August Wilson biography: 5 new must-read books
- A central Kansas police force comes under constitutional criticism after raiding a newspaper
- After Maui fires, human health risks linger in the air, water and even surviving buildings
- NFL Week 10 winners, losers: Cowboys' season can no longer be saved
- Cuba's first Little League World Series team has family ties to MLB's Gurriel brothers
- How Jonathan Scott Became Zooey Deschanel's MVP
- Jury acquits 1 of 2 brothers charged in 2013 slaying in north central Indiana
- More than 150 pronghorns hit, killed on Colorado roads as animals sought shelter from snow
- 'Only Murders in the Building' Episode 3: How to watch Season 3; schedule, cast
Ranking
- Stock market today: Asian stocks dip as Wall Street momentum slows with cooling Trump trade
- Clarence Avant, 'The Black Godfather' of music, dies at 92
- How a law associated with mobsters could be central in possible charges against Trump
- Maui wildfires death toll rises to 93, making it the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii since it became a state
- Joel Embiid injury, suspension update: When is 76ers star's NBA season debut?
- Morgan Freeman on rescuing a Black WWII tank battalion from obscurity
- 21 Amazon Outfits Under $45 for Anyone Who Loathes the Summer Heat
- Vanderpump Rules Star Scheana Shay’s Under $40 Fashion Finds Are “Good as Gold”
Recommendation
-
Get $103 Worth of Tatcha Skincare for $43.98 + 70% Off Flash Deals on Elemis, Josie Maran & More
-
North Dakota teen survives nearly 100-foot fall at North Rim of Grand Canyon
-
How a DNA detective helped solve an unsolvable Michigan cold case in four days
-
5 people, including a child, are dead after an explosion destroys 3 homes and damages 12 others
-
Tom Brady Admits He Screwed Up as a Dad to Kids With Bridget Moynahan and Gisele Bündchen
-
Judge sides with young activists in first-of-its-kind climate change trial in Montana
-
16 people injured after boat explodes at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri
-
Ranking SEC quarterbacks in 2023, from Jayden Daniels and Joe Milton to Graham Mertz