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When is a gun a “crime gun”?
Every day, 1,300 Americans are victims of gun crimes, including 32 murders.
The guns used in these crimes don’t just “grow on trees” and criminals aren’t manufacturing them in their basements. In reality, nearly all crime guns are purchased initially at a licensed dealer, and later diverted to the underground, illegal market.
Any firearm used—or suspected to have been used—in a crime is immediately labeled by law enforcement as a ”crime gun”.
When police recover a crime gun, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “trace” every identifiable seller and buyer of the gun, often including straw purchasers and gun traffickers—common ways legal guns end up in criminal hands and wind up as crime guns.
http://www.bradycampaign.org/our-impact/resources/when-is-a-gun-a-%E2%80%9Ccrime-gun%E2%80%9D
The guns used in these crimes don’t just “grow on trees” and criminals aren’t manufacturing them in their basements. In reality, nearly all crime guns are purchased initially at a licensed dealer, and later diverted to the underground, illegal market.
Any firearm used—or suspected to have been used—in a crime is immediately labeled by law enforcement as a ”crime gun”.
When police recover a crime gun, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “trace” every identifiable seller and buyer of the gun, often including straw purchasers and gun traffickers—common ways legal guns end up in criminal hands and wind up as crime guns.
http://www.bradycampaign.org/our-impact/resources/when-is-a-gun-a-%E2%80%9Ccrime-gun%E2%80%9D
The article goes on to state that:
- Most gun dealers help keep guns out of dangerous hands. More than 80% can proudly report not a single crime gun traced to their shops.
- But a small number of “bad apple” gun dealers disregard public safety to supply the criminal market. In fact, just 5% of all gun dealers are responsible for 90% of crime guns on our streets.
The right-wing organizations ALEC/NRA/ILA use the Second Amendment as a marketing tool to flood our streets and communities with guns, while enabling dishonest dealers and complicit manufacturers to supply the black market for guns -- because it adds to their bottom line. In actual practice, the real criminals are the ones who turn a blind eye for the sake of greed and profits.