68,000 guns were illegally trafficked through unlicensed dealers over 5 years, federal report finds

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

This is an article from some publication called "The Sentinel-Record. It talks the usual blah blah about how unlicensed gun dealers are supplying guns to criminals, not running background checks by selling guns online, at gun shows, etc. There's only one problem I see in their assortations: there's no such thing as an unlicensed dealer. Gun Dealers by definition are FFL holders. Anybody who doesn't have one is a private citizen, and private citizens CAN'T run a background check on another private citizen.

 

https://www.hotsr.com/news/2024/apr/06/68000-guns-were-illegally-trafficked-through/

 

WASHINGTON -- 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.

The rule, which has not yet been finalized, is estimated to affect 24,500 to 328,000 sellers. During the five years documented in the report, 3,400 unlicensed dealers were investigated by the ATF.

[ORNERY OAF]

8 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

 There's only one problem I see in their assortations: there's no such thing as an unlicensed dealer. Gun Dealers by definition are FFL holders. Anybody who doesn't have one is a private citizen

 

 

 

Please, by your logic, anyone who sells drugs, a drug dealer, is a pharmacist,  anyone not licensed is just a private citizen......so the dude down the street slinging meth and heroin is not a drug dealer because he is not licensed? He is a private citizen 

[Texas Joker]

So 68,000 guns sold and either 368 or 480 shootings.

 

The larger number makes a .00705 % 

 

Am failing to understand issue?

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

2 hours ago, ORNERY OAF said:

Please, by your logic, anyone who sells drugs, a drug dealer, is a pharmacist,  anyone not licensed is just a private citizen......so the dude down the street slinging meth and heroin is not a drug dealer because he is not licensed? He is a private citizen 

Perhaps I worded it wrong. The article referrers to "Unlicensed Dealers". There is no such thing as an Unlicensed Dealer. A dealer has an FFL. Someone who doesn't is not a dealer, he is a private citizen. Private citizens can legally sell guns. 

The article tries to make it sound like criminals are getting their guns by buying them online as though they were buying a used car, or buying them at gun shows. The Left believes both of these to be true. 

[Alpo]

I gotta disagree with you there.

 

If you are in the business of buying and selling something to make money, you are a dealer. There are a lot of people that buy guns cheaply and sell them at gun shows. They are dealers. They are not licensed dealers - they do not have a federal firearms license. But they are still dealers.

 

 

[Pat Riot]

If the guns were sold by unlicensed dealers and licenses are how they track dealers how would they know?

 

I’ll bet the took a sample from one location then performed a magical math trick to arrive at that limp-wrist scaring number. 

[Cypress Sun]

Let's see, according the NSSF (Firearms Industry and Trade Association) there were 15,900,000 firearms sold through licensed dealers in 2023. Average the 68,000 supposed guns sold by "unlicensed" dealers over the five years into an approximate yearly number, that makes it approximately 13,600 sold per year.

 

That's .085% of all guns sold in 2024 were sold by "unlicensed" dealers....so what is the Sentinel Record's point again?

[ORNERY OAF]

I agree with alpo, I've seen tables at the gun show with 50 guns from "personal collection" so no nics  check. And yes, that is the table the thugs flock to with cash in hand. The legit dealers hate them because they make good folks look bad. It's not just some guys selling grandpa's shotguns at the show or one of any of us selling stuff to buy new stuff without the old lady finding out. These are the guys who make money buying and selling lots of guns every show, they are "engaged in the business"