The San Bernardino massacre is unique in several respects, but it does bring into focus an important issue with broad relevance: how do dangerous people obtain guns, and what should the police and courts be doing to make those transactions more difficult?

The shooters – Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik – utilized several guns in their attack on Farook’s coworkers during a holiday party in November that killed 14 and injured 22. In addition to two pistols, this husband-wife team had two military-style rifles that were purchased by a friend and neighbor, Enrique Marquez Jr.

It appears that Farook relied on Marquez because he doubted that he could pass the background check that gun dealers are required to conduct on all buyers. Marquez has now been charged with several crimes, including making a “straw purchase” – that is, he swore to the dealer that he was buying the guns for his own use, but in fact he was acting on behalf of Farook.

How does this terrorist attack relate to the more routine gun violence that afflicts many American neighborhoods? Criminal assaults with guns kill 30 Americans every day, and injure another 170.

http://idfspokesperson.com/2016/05/26/criminals-get-guns-sales-crime/