Press Room
 

February 4, 2000
ls-373

TREASURY, ATF RELEASE FIREARMS REPORT, GUN TRAFFICKING ACTIONS

Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers released a report on Friday announcing that a small number of firearms dealers account for a majority of crime guns traced to active dealers and a series of actions in response to the report's findings. Secretary Summers was joined by Under Secretary for Enforcement James E. Johnson and Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Bradley A. Buckles.

This report provides new analysis leading us to new measures in our continuing efforts to decrease firearms violence and to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and youth," said Secretary Summers. "Most important, ATF will conduct intensive inspections of the one-percent of dealers that account for well over half of all crime guns traced last year. If violations of law are found, we will take action against these dealers."

The findings are a part of Commerce in Firearms in the United States, which is ATF's first comprehensive report that presents data on the firearms industry and describes ATF's regulatory enforcement programs for combating firearms trafficking. The report documents that:

  • 1.2 percent of current dealers (1,020 dealers) account for 57 percent of crime gun traces to active dealers. Each of these dealers had 10 or more crime guns traced to them. Just 0.2% of dealers (132 dealers) had 50 or more crime guns traced to them, accounting for 27% of crime gun traces.
  • Congressional reforms enacted in 1993 and 1994 to ensure that only legitimate dealers, manufacturers and importers obtain federal firearms licenses have resulted in a substantial drop in the number of firearms licensees, from approximately 284,000 in 1992 to 104,000 today.
  • A small number of retail gun dealers fail to cooperate with ATF requests to trace crime guns, obstructing criminal investigations in these cases. In 1999, approximately 50 retail gun dealers either failed entirely to respond to a trace request, did not respond within the required 24 hours three or more times, or wrongly denied having information that they in fact had.
  • In 1998 and 1999, firearms dealers voluntarily reported about 1,900 interstate thefts, involving over 3,700 firearms. Actions to achieve more comprehensive, mandatory reporting is expected to reveal even greater numbers of thefts.

ATF also announced a series of measures it will take in response to the Commerce in Firearms Report. These include:

  • Conducting intensive inspections of over 1,000 retail dealers and pawnbrokers who have 10 or more crime guns traced to them in 1999. These dealers account for well over half of all crime guns traced to active dealers last year.
  • Requiring approximately 450 dealers to provide ATF with certain information (serial number, manufacturer, importer, model) about secondhand firearms they acquire. These dealers sold a significant number of new crime guns that were recovered by police and traced within three years of leaving the gun shop. An estimated two million secondhand guns are sold in the U.S. each year and they are largely untraceable. This initiative will enable ATF to trace used guns sold by dealers associated with high numbers of crime guns.
  • Requiring dealers who fail to cooperate with trace requests to send all of their firearms records to ATF so that the firearms they sell can be traced if they are used in crime. ATF will also take regulatory enforcement actions with respect to these dealers, as appropriate.
  • Providing the firearms manufacturers and importers, upon request, a list by serial number of the firearms they sold that were traced as crime guns during the previous year. This will enable the manufacturers and importers to police the distribution of the firearms they sell.
  • Publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requiring all Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to conduct regular inventories and report discrepancies to ATF. This will enable FFLs to fulfill their statutory obligations to maintain accurate records of the acquisition and disposition of firearms and report the loss or theft of firearms to ATF.
  • Amending the ATF Federal firearms license application to require dealers renewing their licenses to certify how many firearms they acquired and disposed of during the preceding three years. This will provide evidence to enable ATF to deny renewal applications of dealers who are not actively engaged in the business.

The prevention of violent crime in America is among ATF's primary goals. These measures are another step toward strengthening ATF's ability to effectively prevent and solve violent crime," said ATF Director Bradley Buckles.

Commerce in Firearms in the United States is the first in an annual series of reports that will present data collected by ATF and other federal agencies relating to regulation as well as major developments in the firearms industry. The report can be found on http://www.atf.gov/