[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 119 (Thursday, September 21, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9890-S9891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            A FEW BAD APPLES

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, analyses of gun trace data has consistently 
found that a tiny percentage of our Nation's licensed gun dealers 
contribute to the vast majority of our Nation's crime guns.
  This finding was first revealed in a 1995 report produced for the 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives--ATF--by a team of 
researchers at Northeastern University. The report used trace data to 
identify patterns of firearm trafficking. It found that less than one 
percent of licensed gun dealers account for almost half of the traced 
crime guns.
  Later analyses confirmed these findings. A report published by 
Senator Schumer used 1998 trace data to identify 137 dealers nationwide 
that sold more than 50 guns traced to crime. The 13 worst dealers were 
the source of 13,000 guns used in crimes that year.
  In the ``Commerce in Firearms'' report released in February 2000, the 
ATF reported that only 1.2 percent of dealers, or about a thousand 
dealers, accounted for 57 percent of the crime guns that year. A 
smaller subset of only 330 dealers accounted for approximately 40 
percent of the crime guns. Again, the trace data showed that a 
relatively small number of gun dealers were responsible for the 
diversion of a tremendous number of guns into the illegal market. The 
report also recognized that trace data should be used by manufacturers 
of firearms to ensure retail sellers act responsibly to prevent the 
diversion of guns into the illegal market.
  In 2004, the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation released a report 
based on trace data introduced into evidence in a lawsuit brought 
against the gun industry by the NAACP that named the gun dealers who 
sold the most guns traced to crime. Dealers that sold 200 or more crime 
guns from 1996 to 2000 were listed by name and location. The 
publication of the report not only allowed local communities to know 
where high trace gun dealers were operating, but also handed the gun 
industry a specific list of dealers who were contributing the most guns 
to the illegal market.
  In 2005 the ATF released a study that found that 97 rogue gun dealers 
had 11,840 guns ``disappear'' from their shops. These dealers accounted 
for 96 percent of the guns identified as missing from 3,083 Federal 
firearm licensees that the ATF inspected.
  Over the last few years, crime gun tracing has produced a great deal 
of valuable information on how the illegal gun market is supplied. A 
small number of rogue gun dealers are playing a tremendous role in 
aiding gun

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crimes by supplying thousands of guns to the criminal market. We must 
use this type of information to help point the way to policies that 
keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

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