The anti-gun fanatics of Gun Control, Inc. have released yet another biased “Got ya!” metric to support their unwarranted claims of lawful firearm retailers being rogue gun runners and must be regulated at the state level as well as at the federal level. In reality, they only display their own ignorance of the firearm industry and the cluelessness of the people who feed on their lies.
Moms Demand & Everytown, part of the vast privately funded Gun Control, Inc. network said, “Did you know that 96% of recovered crime guns were traced back to a purchase from a licensed gun dealer?” Umm.. No duh?
First let’s understand why they are pushing out this garbage. After failing to get the unconstitutional gun control restrictions they wanted at the federal level, the anti-gun zealots have been targeting individual states. Bills titled something to the effect of “Firearm Dealer Responsible Business Practices Act” (as it appears here in Maine) seek to impose significant new regulatory and so-called “safety” regulations on Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs). These include new state level mandates for everything from site security, video recording, required signage, store procedures, employee training and background checks, additional record keeping and state level inspections.
Keep in mind the firearm industry is already one of the most highly regulated in the country and subject to random inspections by the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives). The proposed new laws not only duplicate federal regulations but add additional state level administrative and reporting requirements and non-compliance fines. They essentially establish a state level ATF clone with its own licensing, fees and penalties.
If you want to see where this came from and why they want this in other states, look west to California’s Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Firearms (BOF). The DOJ BOF is a second layer of state licensing and control over all FFLs. They prescribe all manner of business operations such as licensing, security, record keeping, employee training, purchaser testing/training and mandatory signage ALL adding significant costs and fees to doing business as a firearm retailer.
As if the fees, fees and more fees aren’t bad enough, they also set additional legal traps for retailers if they make even the smallest of administrative omissions with the byzantine and constantly updated rules and regulations.
The result is exactly what you would expect it to be. Small firearm retailers are unable to absorb the significantly increased costs of state level regulatory compliance and forced to go out of business. This all leads to increased costs and less choices for consumers who have fewer and fewer options on being able to exercise one of the very core elements of Second Amendment protections, being able to purchase a firearm.
The worst part is none of these so-called “safety” regulations have anything to do with preventing or solving crime or anything remotely resembling safety. They only punish those who are already following the law.
Why the DUH? The Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 enacted numerous changes on how firearms were manufactured and sold in the country. In short, manufacturers, distributers and retailers were all required to be licensed as a FFL and keep records of firearms. It also required all firearms to be serialized, something many but not all did at the time.
Since 1968, when a firearm comes to market in this country, in goes from the manufacturer to distributor to the retailer, where it is purchased by the end consumer. Firearms from outside the United States come in through importers (also FFLs). All are commonly jumbled into the term “gun dealers”.
Understand what this means. Starting with the GCA, from the time of manufacture until it is first sold, every firearm in this country is now fanatically and legally documented.
So when do good guns turn to crime guns? Firearms are stolen in burglaries and in transit anywhere along the line from manufacture to retail. They are also stolen from the person who legally purchased them. As durable, long-term items, they are commonly traded and shared in criminal use. Some are purchased by a person who eventually commits a crime, or has it stolen by a family member. EACH ONE can be traced from the manufacturer, distributor and retailer to the first purchase or to where it was stolen. IF you live in a state with Universal Background Checks, each sale and transfer is recorded and thus, ‘registered’ and traceable.
What isn’t traced back to the FFL? Firearms illegally smuggled in from one of the 194 other countries in the world and self-manufactured firearms. There are still a large number of pre-1968 firearms out there without serial numbers and they are perfectly legal to own and sell, but they may or may not have been recorded in a FFL’s books. Even firearms illegally obtained through a straw purchase are still traced back to that first, original buyer who bought it from a FFL.
What this boils down to is Gun Control Inc’s bombshell reporting about 96% of crime guns being traced back to a licensed gun dealer is about as insightful and useful as saying cow’s milk comes from a cow. Where the HELL else would it come from?
Oh, here’s a fun side note for you. The next time Gun Control, Inc goes off on the incredibly high percentage of self-made/3D printed guns being used in crimes, you can ask what part of the 4% of total number of non-FFL traceable firearms this makes up. You can’t claim traceable and non-traceable firearms are both the majority of crime firearms recovered.
If only this was the last foolishly misleading metric they’ll come up with. If only.
Bob
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