[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 26 (Thursday, March 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 GUN DEALER RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                             HON. JACK REED

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 10, 1994

  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, now that the Brady handgun control law is on 
the books, it is time to build on the national consensus to control 
crime and make people feel more secure in their homes, schools, 
neighborhoods, and places where we work every day. I believe that one 
important place to start turning the tide of violence is by requiring 
greater responsibility from people in the business of selling weapons.
  Currently, there are over 284,000 Federally licensed firearms 
dealers--754 in Rhode Island alone. Many of these dealers are 
responsible small business people. There are, however, a substantial 
number of dealers, known as kitchen table dealers who sell guns out of 
their homes and cars to people who lack the requisite identification. 
Federal regulation of these dealers has been hit or miss, mostly miss. 
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms [BATF] has only 240 
inspectors throughout the United States dedicated to inspection of gun 
dealers to ensure compliance with Federal gun laws. In a chilling 
revelation, BATF recently reported that an investigation of 400 
randomly selected gun dealers uncovered Federal firearms violations 
among 34 percent of the dealers.
  President Clinton and Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen have called 
for increased regulation of gun dealers and proposed increased 
administrative controls over the Federal gun dealer licensing process. 
However, administrative solutions are not enough.
  Past law suits by victims of gun violence have revealed dealers who 
sell to prohibited buyers in what are called straw purchases. In these 
cases, an ineligible buyer goes to a store and has a friend or relative 
buy a gun for him.
  In one Virginia case, a gun dealer sold a semi-automatic handgun to a 
16-year-old boy who used his uncle as a straw purchaser. The boy had 
handed the $300 price of the gun to his uncle in front of the gun 
dealer, his uncle purchased the gun, and the 16-year-old left the store 
carrying the gun. The boy then used the same gun to kill one of his 
teachers. A Virginia court found that the gun dealer had been negligent 
in selling the murder weapon and awarded the victims family $105,000 in 
damages.
  In Georgia, damages were awarded against a gun dealer who was found 
to be negligent in selling a semi-automatic rifle to a straw buyer. The 
straw purchase was made by the wife of a man who could not purchase a 
gun on his own because he had once been institutionalized for mental 
illness. The man then used the same gun to kill a woman while she sat 
in her home.
  Despite these examples, it is very difficult for victims of gun 
violence to go to court and collect damages from gun dealers who break 
the law and sell guns to minors and straw buyers. This is because there 
is very little case law and no Federal law giving victims of gun 
violence the right to sue gun dealers who make illegal gun sales.
  The bill I am introducing today, the Gun Dealer Responsibility Act of 
1994, provides a statutory cause of action for victims of gun violence 
against gun dealers whose illegal sale of a gun directly contributes to 
the victim's injury. My intent in proposing this bill is to completely 
shutoff the illegal sale of guns to minors and convicted felons. I also 
believe my bill will go a long way toward making those gun dealers, who 
now may look the other way, more cautious about selling guns to straw 
gun buyers.
  Gun sales in America generated $7 billion in 1992 and it is estimated 
this figure was $9 billion in 1993. In a time when many Americans have 
seen their quality of life altered by a fear of crime and random acts 
of violence, it is only fair that society ask those who profit from gun 
sales be held to a new and higher standard of responsibility.
  I ask that a statement be printed in the Record along with the 
language of the bill and a copy of a letter from Sarah Brady of Handgun 
Control, Inc., supporting this legislation.


                                        Handgun Control, Inc.,

                                    Washington, DC, March 8, 1994.
     Hon. Jack Reed,
     U.S. House of Representatives, 1510 Longworth House Office 
         Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Reed: I am writing in support of your 
     proposed legislation to give gun violence victims a private 
     damages remedy in Federal court against gun dealers who 
     violate the Gun Control Act.
       Our Nation is suffering an epidemic of gun violence. The 
     violence in our streets too often is fueled by gun dealers 
     who engage in irresponsible and illegal conduct, such as 
     selling guns to minors or to straw purchasers for prohibited 
     buyers.
       With over 280,000 licensed gun dealers, the government 
     cannot possibly discover and prosecute every illegal dealer 
     sale. The threat of civil damages liability for the violence 
     caused by illegal dealer conduct will provide a necessary and 
     powerful incentive for dealers to obey the law.
       A number of state courts have already recognized that 
     victims can recover damages from dealers who violate the law. 
     Your bill simply gives victims a uniform Federal remedy. It 
     is an important component of a National strategy against gun 
     violence.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Sarah Brady,
     Chair.

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