illegal guns

The Patriotic American

Report Says Significant
Number of Legal
Hanguns Used In Crimes

According to an Associated Press (AP) story, the New York Times recently revealed that nearly 40 percent of the handguns used in crimes were bought legally from gun dealers within three years of the crime. It has long been held that most handguns illegally used are obtained by illegal means, primarily theft.

"...gun industry spokesmen questioned the data, saying that the relatively short length of time between the sale of a handgun and its use during a crime is an inaccurate measure of whether a weapon has been stolen" (Many Guns For Crimes Bought Legally, Associated Press, November 29, 1998).

Up until recently, however, law enforcement professionals did not agree with this assumption. According to an AP story in July, 1997, "Authorities have several theories on how guns get into youths' hands. Some are acquired through thefts and burglaries. Some juveniles purchase a gun from an adult who can legally buy the weapon. Some guns are found in the home" (Judge Tries To Learn Where Kids Get Guns, Associated Press, July 21, 1997).

Last but least, a document released by the National Institute of Justice in January 1997, maintains that "Firearms ownership is much more common among people who have been arrested than it is in the general population. Arrestees say it is easy and takes little time for them to obtain firearms illegally" (Illegal Firearms: Access and Use By Arrestees, National Institute of Justice, January, 1997).

Of course, going back to the most recent report citing that almost 40 percent of handguns used in crimes were legally purchased from federally licensed gun dealers, without a doubt this statement is correct. There is little doubt that nearly all handguns, almost without exception, were originally purchased through federally licensed gun dealers. However, there is an overwhelming abundance of published opinion and evidence that most criminals who use a handgun to commit a crime obtained it illegally by theft or purchasing it on the black market.

Commander Tom Robinson, Columbus Police Juvenile Burreau, says "When the weapon is legally sold at a gun shop, there is a record of that. But if the person who purchases the weapon legally decides to sell the weapon to someone, you don't have a record of that" (Judge Tries To Learn Where Kids Get Guns, Associated Press, July 21, 1997).

The same month that Robinson made his statement to the AP, Laura Meckler, AP Writer, stated, "Americans were less likely to be killed with guns but more likely to die in car crashes, according to a government report that documents reversals in two longstanding trends" (Fewer Deaths By Guns, More by Cars in 1995, Associated Press, July 25, 1997).

(c)1998 Allan B. Colombo