[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14815-14816]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     PROSECUTING GUN-RELATED CRIMES

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last month I spoke about a report released 
by Americans for Gun Safety Foundation entitled, ``The Enforcement Gap: 
Federal Gun Laws Ignored,'' analyzing the Justice Department's 
commitment to enforcing and prosecuting gun laws. The report examines 
prosecution data acquired from the Justice Department under the Freedom 
of Information Act for fiscal years 2000 through 2002. The AGS study 
reveals a significant gap between the number of federal gun crimes 
committed and the number of Federal prosecutions initiated.
  In response to this report, Representative John Dingell, the Dean of 
the

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Michigan delegation in the House, sent a letter to Attorney General 
Ashcroft asking ``how the Justice Department plans to improve its 
abysmal record of enforcement of all of the major federal firearms 
statutes.'' He goes on to say, ``by not enforcing existing federal 
firearm laws, we are not only allowing criminals to arm themselves, we 
are eliminating any deterrent effect these laws may have.''
  Justice Department officials regularly point to a 38 percent increase 
in prosecutions of gun crimes since 2001 as evidence of their success. 
However, according to the AGS report, at the end of fiscal year 2002, 
federal prosecutors filed 197 cases for gun trafficking, despite 
100,000 guns showing signs of trafficking. Only 27 cases were filed 
against corrupt gun dealers, even though AGS reports that gun dealers 
are the leading source of firearms recovered in gun trafficking 
operations. Across the country, only seven cases for illegally selling 
a gun to a minor were filed, even though more than 30,000 gun crimes 
were committed by youths age 17 or under. Only 202 cases were filed for 
possessing or selling a stolen firearm, despite nearly 140,000 reported 
gun thefts that year in which the make, model and serial number of a 
stolen gun was reported to police. And, a mere 98 cases for possessing 
or selling a firearm with an obliterated serial number were prosecuted, 
despite thousands of these guns being recovered in cities across the 
country each year.
  I believe vigorous and fair enforcement of our gun safety laws is a 
critical step toward reducing gun violence. I commend Congressman 
Dingell questioning the Justice Department about the enforcement gap, 
and I hope the Justice Department will step up its efforts to prosecute 
not only people who commit gun crimes but those corrupt or negligent 
dealers who put guns in criminal hands.

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