[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 110 (Friday, September 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S9249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       COMBATING GUN TRAFFICKING

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I have long supported law enforcement's 
efforts to combat gun trafficking. Earlier this summer, 11 people were 
charged with purchasing firearms in gun shops in Virginia and illegally 
dumping them on the streets of New York City between 2004 and 2005. 
These arrests bring attention to the need to vigorously enforce our gun 
laws in order to stem the flow of guns to the black market.
  These individuals have been charged with making straw purchases of 
handguns at various gun shops in Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA, and 
transporting them to New York City, where they were allegedly sold on 
the streets at a significant markup. Straw purchases are transactions 
that violate Federal law in which one individual submits to the 
required Federal background check for a gun that is clearly intended 
for use by someone else. Such purchasers play a crucial role in the 
illegal trafficking of guns by purchasing with the intention of 
reselling them to prohibited buyers. The alleged conspiracy, which took 
place from September 2004 through June 2005, was first uncovered in 
2004 when New York City police officers began making undercover 
purchases of firearms from this organization on the streets. The guns 
were traced back to gun shops in Virginia where the original straw 
purchases are said to have taken place. More than 50 guns were 
involved.
  Gun trafficking has also been a problem in my home State of Michigan. 
According to an Americans for Gun Safety 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 that period were in Ohio, 
Kentucky, Georgia, and Alabama.
  These statistics demonstrate the length to which criminals are 
willing to go to circumvent our gun laws. This kind of activity can be 
stopped by vigorously enforcing our gun laws, providing law enforcement 
with stronger tools to crack down on gun trafficking, on corrupt gun 
dealers and other armed criminals, and by passing sensible gun safety 
legislation.
  I commend the hard work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 
and Explosives and other Federal, State and local law enforcement 
officers. Vigorous law enforcement is an integral part of reducing gun 
violence.

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