[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 12 (Thursday, January 23, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S1462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STOLEN FIREARMS, ARMING THE ENEMY

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last month Americans for Gun Safety, an 
organization which seeks to educate Americans on existing gun laws and 
new policy options for reducing access to guns by criminals and 
children, released a report entitled Stolen Firearms, Arming the Enemy. 
This report examines the effect of stolen guns on communities. 
According to the report, nearly 1.7 million firearms have been reported 
stolen since 1993. These stolen guns are frequently used later in 
committing crimes and fuel the black market for guns. Most of the 
estimated 170,000 guns stolen each year are never recovered.
  The accessibility of stolen firearms was earlier highlighted by a 
1997 Department of Justice survey of 33,731 state prison inmates. The 
survey found that nearly 10 percent of the inmates used a stolen 
firearm to commit the crime that put them in prison.
  The Americans for Gun Safety report points to several factors that 
contribute to a state's firearm theft rate, such as gun ownership 
rates, overall crime rates, and safe storage laws. The report notes 
that the eighteen states with safe storage laws had firearm theft rates 
nearly 30 percent below that of States without safe storage gun laws. 
Additionally, over the last 10-year period, theft rates declined by at 
least 47 percent in States with safe storage laws compared to 30 
percent in States without such laws.
  As the Americans for Gun Safety report illustrates, safe storage laws 
can help prevent criminals from gaining access to firearms. Federal 
safe storage laws aimed at protecting children may have the added 
benefit of preventing gun theft. Last Congress, I cosponsored Senator 
Durbin's Children's Firearm Access Prevention Act. Under this bill, 
adults who fail to lock up loaded firearms or unloaded firearms with 
ammunition can be held liable if a weapon is taken by a child and used 
to kill or injure him or herself or another person. The bill also 
increases the penalties for selling a gun to a juvenile and creates a 
gun safety education program that includes parent-teacher 
organizations, local law enforcement and community organizations. This 
bill is similar to legislation President Bush signed into law as 
Governor of Texas. I believe this is a simple common sense step we can 
take to reduce gun violence and gun-related crime. I support this bill 
and I hope the Senate will act on it during this Congress.

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