Arresting corrupt gun dealers, traffickers the first step in curbing gun violence

People walk out of a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colo., after a shooting there on Monday. (Chet Strange/Getty Images)

Let us replace emotional and political rhetoric with some factual evidence surrounding gun crime. My opinion has a basis in facts reported in the PBS document written by Dan Noyes of the Center for Investigative Reporting and listening to current media reporting. Mr. Noyes interviewed an ATF Agent who shared ATF statistics.

Contrary to some public opinions, stolen guns account for about 10 percent to 15 percent of guns used in crimes. Guns stolen from Federally Licensed Firearms (FFLs) dealers and guns sold by corrupt FFLs account for the largest percentage of guns used in crime.

". . . there are a number of sources that allow guns to fall into the wrong hands, with gun thefts at the bottom of the list."

The single largest source of gun transactions in which criminals obtain guns are "sales made by legally licensed but corrupt-at-home and commercial gun dealers." Not guns stolen from "John Q. Citizen."

FFLs are also a large source of illegal guns for gun traffickers who ultimately end up selling the guns on the street.

Behind the FFL source, the most common way criminals obtain guns are over-the-counter straw sales in which a person who may not be legally able to acquire a gun has another individual do so on his behalf.

Stolen guns are at the bottom of the list.

In the mass murder instances which get an excess of media coverage, the perpetrators generally are males suffering from mental illness or of hatred of a specific group of people.

Increased monitoring and auditing of sales by FFL's is a first step toward curbing gun violence. That means enforcing laws already on the books which include background checks. If we do not step up enforcement, no new laws will solve or reduce gun crime.

Secondly, we must address the social issues which cause our men to become mass murderers and criminals. Why has our society failed? We must end the mentality of a student telling this teacher that his pencil failed the test. We must focus on "the student".

If a person wants a gun, it can be bought on the black market. Removing the largest single source - corrupt FFLs and sales to traffickers - would be a start toward reducing gun access by criminals and the mentally ill.

Cheryl Russell is a former high school teacher and 30-year employee with the U.S. Department of the Treasury who writes op-ed pieces for The Rochester Voice. She lives in Dover.