[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 58 (Thursday, May 9, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S4137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       GUN TRAFFICKING IN AMERICA

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I have spoken previously about the problem 
of gun trafficking. In June of 2000, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and 
Firearms released ``Following the Gun: Enforcing Federal Laws Against 
Firearms Traffickers.'' This report examined 1,500 ATF gun trafficking 
investigations documenting that more than 84,000 guns were diverted to 
the illegal market and were often later used by criminals to commit 
violent crimes. In addition this report showed that investigations 
involving gun shows and corrupt gun dealers involved the highest 
numbers of trafficked guns. However, some good news did come out of 
this report. At the time of its publication, the report concluded that 
ATF gun trafficking investigations led to the prosecutions of more than 
1,700 defendants. Of these cases, 812 defendants were sentenced in 
federal court to a total of 7,420 years in prison, with an average 
sentence of nine years.
  Gun trafficking has also been a problem in my home state of Michigan. 
According to Americans for Gun Safety's analysis of ATF Trace Data from 
1996--1999, over 40 percent of the guns traced to crimes committed in 
Michigan in 1998 and 1999 originated in other states, a much higher 
rate than the national average. The largest number of out of state 
suppliers of guns to Michigan during the same period were from Ohio, 
Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama.
  The ATF's report and these statistics demonstrate that criminals are 
not only gaining access to guns, but are able to smuggle them into the 
hands of other criminals who use them to commit violent crimes. This 
kind of activity can be stopped by vigorously enforcing our gun laws, 
providing law enforcement with more tools to crack down on gun 
trafficking, corrupt gun dealers and other armed criminals, and by 
passing sensible gun safety legislation.

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