[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 11561-11562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       A BLOW TO GUN TRAFFICKING

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, a unique type of gun trafficking sting 
operation was completed recently. Teams of undercover law enforcement 
officials wearing hidden cameras traveled to Georgia, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia to make purchases which were 
designed to appear to be what are known as ``straw purchases.'' 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 to be used by someone else. These purchasers 
play a crucial role in the illegal trafficking of guns by purchasing 
with the intention of reselling them to prohibited buyers.
  In addition, a lawsuit was filed by the city of New York. The suit, 
filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in 
Brooklyn, asks the court to enforce gun laws regarding such sales and 
require extra training for and supervision of dealers. The lawsuit also 
seeks punitive and compensatory damages. According to New York City's 
Web site, its police have confiscated more than 500 guns that were sold 
by the 15 dealers named in the lawsuit and subsequently used in crimes 
there.
  In January 2001, a 12-year-old boy in New York City, playing with a 
semiautomatic handgun from a pawnshop in Summerville, SC, accidentally 
shot someone in the chest. The gun involved was one of 49 such guns 
from the store linked to crimes and accidents in New York City. As New 
York Mayor Michael Bloomberg pointed out, ``Our suit offers clear and 
compelling evidence that guns sold by these dealers are used in crimes 
by people ineligible to own a gun far more frequently than guns from 
other dealers.''
  To build its case, the city of New York compiled a list of gun 
dealers based on data it received from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives. Investigators worked in pairs. One looked at 
the merchandise, talked with the salesman and handled the weapon, while 
the other wandered the store, seemingly uninterested. When it came time 
to complete the necessary background check forms, the first operator, 
often a man, would call over his partner, frequently a woman, who had 
not been part of the discussion of the weapon. The second investigator 
would fill out the background paperwork, and the first one would pay 
for the gun in cash. This procedure was used to clearly illustrate that 
the second person was making a ``straw purchase'' for the first person.
  Gun-control advocates praise the sting operation and the lawsuit. 
This type of action sends a message to dealers that more government 
officials are not willing to look the other way. Other cities, 
including Gary, Indiana, Chicago and Detroit, have taken similar 
approaches in their own jurisdictions, often using local law 
enforcement officials. This operation however, marks the first time 
investigators across the country participated in such a sting involving 
a number of States.
  I would like to commend everyone on both the Federal and local levels 
who aided in this investigation. This kind

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of illegal activity can be stopped by vigorously enforcing our existing 
gun laws, providing law enforcement with more tools to crack down on 
gun trafficking and corrupt gun dealers, and by passing sensible gun 
safety legislation.

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