The Anti-Gun Masquerade On Dealer Sales Continue
February 1, 2004
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor
Just a couple of months after Halloween and a few weeks before Mardi Gras, the anti-gun mummers have donned their costumes again in still another attempt to frighten the American public about the imaginary threat posed by law-abiding, licensed firearms dealers.
Since this is an election year, their latest spook show targets the Department of Justice under the Bush Administration’s leadership. But the real target is S-659, legislation that would close the door on frivolous gun suits, but not on liability actions related to illegal sales or improperly manufactured firearms. The antis have been trying to kill this legislation by relating it almost entirely to what they claim are corrupt dealers.
There was a similar attempt to manipulate trace data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives and Arson (ATF) in 2003. That foray was put together by the Brady Bunch who used to call themselves Handgun Control Inc. The Brady’s dumped the word “control” from their name, just as many Democrats have been trying to do as the 2004 presidential and congressional elections approach. These days the anti-gun wolves are disguising themselves in the sheep’s clothing of safety.
Well, last year when the antis played with the ATF numbers to publish their list of the top 10 “bad dealers,” the ATF cautioned the public and the media that the data was being misread, manipulated and misinterpreted. The ATF noted that not all crime guns are traced so the data universe is incomplete, that high volume dealers would be most likely to have more legally-sold guns traced, and that dealers in high crime population areas could also be expected to have a higher number of traced guns.
With that, the anti-gunners and the media seemed to back off their approach. But that was then and this is now.
AGSF Takes Lead
In January, Americans for Gun Safety Foundation (AGSF), currently a dominate player in the gun control elite, released a report supposedly based on ATF trace gun data that claimed that 120 of the nation’s 83,000 licensed firearms dealers—one-tenth of 1%—sold about 55,000 of the 373,000 guns confiscated by police from 1996 to 2000. The guns either were seized after crimes or recovered after being stolen.
As soon as AGSF, funded by monster.com billionaire Andrew McKelvey, put out the release on Jan. 12, the media went bonkers.
The Miami Herald was quick to report that 3 Miami-area gun stores are among 120 nationwide that sell the most firearms traced to crimes, citing the AGSF “report.”
“A fourth Florida gun dealer who also made the list,” The Herald continued, “is based in Central Florida, but well known on the South Florida gun show circuit.”
The Herald at least mentioned early in its story that “The report notes that some stores do such a high volume of business that it is inevitable that some guns will be used in crimes. Just because a retailer qualified for the high-crime list doesn’t automatically mean it engaged in illegal behavior.”
That sort of tracked what ATF said last year.
The Washington Post noted that the report said 15% of the guns traced were linked to a fraction of dealers, and then noted that of the 120 dealers listed in the report, “11 are in Maryland and 13 in Virginia.” Of course, these are primary distribution areas for The Post, but it soon became clear that many of the licensed dealers mentioned were going to get a lot of unwelcome publicity. The Miami Herald listed the names of the local stores mentioned and so did many other newspapers, television and radio stations.
In all fairness, many of the reporters quoted dealer and other sources which explained what was wrong with the AGSF study, but these were frequently buried near the end of their published reports.
‘Beltway Snipers’
USA Today on Jan. 14 linked their report on the “study” to the “Beltway snipers” and Bull’s Eye Shooting Supply in Tacoma, WA, where John Muhammad and Lee Malvo allegedly picked up the carbine used to kill 16 people across five states in 2002.
USA Today headlined their story, “US lets scofflaw gun dealers continue to arm criminals,” and noted that Bull’s Eye was still in business, even if under new ownership.
Newspapers were not the only media outlets focused on the AGSF report. WISN, The Milwaukee Channel.com, headlined their story with “Milwaukee-Area Gun Shop Sells High Amount Of Guns Linked To Crimes.”
Associated Press and other news wire services all got into the act.
Dealers everywhere in the country, whose named appeared on the AGSF list of 120 stores that were impugned by the gun control group’s publicity, were not the only ones who got blindsided by the so-called gun safety folk. The Justice Department, the White House and Congress were all implicated by direct quotes or by inference.
Clearly the message to be derived from the public relations masquerade was that in spite of a mountain of gun laws, in spite of the Brady Act’s “instant” and not-so-instant background checks, the legal, licensed firearms industry was responsible for arming criminals. The funny part about it all is that criminologist and constitutional attorney Don B. Kates comments on the absurdity of the supply-side approach to controlling crime guns on Page 4 of this issue. His commentary was written before the most recent hoopla generated by AGSF.
But the story and this column don’t end there. The White House responded through the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Justice Responds
The DOJ responded, formally and in writing, with a statement entitled “Facts show US vigilance” written by Mark Corallo, director of public affairs for the US Department of Justice. Here is that statement:
“Under President Bush’s leadership of Project Safe Neighborhoods, gun crime prosecutions have reached record levels. At the same time, the violent crime rate has plunged 21%. That’s what makes some recent criticism surprising. Consider: Federal gun crime prosecutions increased 68% in the past three years. Last year, the Justice Department set a new record by charging 23% more individuals for violating gun laws.
“We’re also shutting down and prosecuting corrupt gun dealers in higher numbers. Since 2000, the number of dealers charged with violating gun laws has risen 150% and cases brought against dealers have nearly tripled. More than 100 dealers have had their licenses revoked in recent years, and many more surrendered their licenses or closed their doors after our inspections.
“Just last month (December), Attorney General John Ashcroft announced indictments against several individuals allegedly involved in a straw-purchasing and gun-trafficking pipeline that led from a gun dealer in Ohio to a violent street gang several states away. This is just one of many cases showing the Justice Department’s aggressive targeting of those who illegally market guns to criminals.
“This apparently hasn’t registered with the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation (AGSF). It relied on out-of-date and incomplete information to draw conclusions that the evidence just doesn’t support about gun traces and this administration’s prosecutions of gun crimes. Firearms licensees who have guns traced back to them have not necessarily broken the law. Basic math explains that those who sell more guns and those located in or near high-crime neighborhoods, or where police trace all crime guns in their custody, will have a higher number of traces.
“The most common way criminals get firearms is through straw purchases—a ‘legitimate buyer’ obtaining guns for someone who can’t legally do it himself—rather than from dealers. That’s why we aggressively pursue and prosecute these criminals. Also, AGSF completely ignores the fact that more than 95% of gun prosecutions are handled by state and local law enforcement agencies.
“By focusing on straw purchasers and dealers of particular concern, the Bush Administration is targeting its resources on one mission: keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. It’s a priority we take seriously—one the facts show is being accomplished.”
Return to Archive Index
