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New Data Reveal Top 10 Crime Gun Dealers in America
Weak Gun Laws Allow Corrupt Dealers to Flood Illegal Market
Dec 13, 2010
Washington, D.C. -- Federal crime gun data obtained by The Washington Post reveal the top crime gun dealers in America for the first time since the Brady Center obtained similar data in 2006. The data are kept secret from the public under an appropriations rider designed to shield the identity of the dealers that supply criminals with guns. The gun lobby pushed for the secrecy rider.
These top crime gun dealers have flooded the illegal gun market with an average of more than one crime gun every day of the year. Studies have shown that weak federal gun laws enable corrupt gun dealers to continually supply the criminal gun market and stay in business despite years of gun law violations.
“Weak federal gun laws allow corrupt gun dealers to flood thousands of guns into the illegal gun market,” said Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence President Paul Helmke. “We must strengthen law enforcement’s ability to crack down on the dealers who profit from so many gun sales to criminals.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has found a strong association between crime gun traces and gun dealer violations of federal gun laws. ATF has found that “sales volume alone does not account for the disproportionately large number of traces associated with these firearms dealers.”
The Top 10 Crime Gun Dealers in America are:
Vance Outdoors, Columbus, Ohio - 2,390 traces
Hyatt Coin and Gun, Charlotte - 2,055 traces
Dons Guns and Galleries, Indianapolis - 1,910 traces
Guns and Ammo, Memphis - 1,865 traces
Arrowhead Pawn, Jonesboro, Georgia - 1,720 traces
Badger Guns, W. Milwaukee, Wisconsin - 1,700 traces
Trader Sports, San Leandro, California - 1,605 traces
Lone Wolf Trading Co, Glendale, Arizona - 1,515 traces
Candler Road Pawn Shop, Decatur, Georgia - 1,325 traces
Shooters of Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida - 1,320 traces
The actual number of crime guns sold by these shops is likely much higher, as many guns are never recovered or successfully traced back to the gun shop that sold them. This list shows the number of crime guns traced back to these gun stores in the last four years. Only 1% of the nation’s gun dealers supply more than 57% of guns recovered in crime and in a given year about 89% of licensed gun dealers have no traces.
ATF has defined a crime gun as “any firearm that is illegally possessed, used in a crime, or suspected to have been used in a crime.”
The Brady Center recently filed two lawsuits against Badger Guns, whose guns have been used to shoot six Milwaukee police officers. Four of the officers filed suit against Badger Guns for allegedly engaging in blatantly illegal gun sales to criminals and straw purchasers. More information about the Brady Center’s recent lawsuit is available at http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/press/view/1324/.
Dealers that are top sellers in crime guns are linked frequently to gun traffickers and illegal gun sales. Top crime gun dealer Trader Sports had trace requests amounting to approximately 12% of its sales figures from 2003-2005, meaning an average of one of every eight guns sold by Trader Sports was recovered in crime. Yet it took years before ATF finally was able to revoke Trader Sports’ federal firearms license in 2006, after citing it for thousands of violations of federal law. Despite Trader Sports’ license revocation, its guns continue to be traced back to the now-closed shop. More information about this gun shop is in the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence report Trading In Death at http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/reports/trading-in-death.pdf.
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The Brady Campaign is the nation's largest citizens' lobby to prevent gun violence. We represent the voice of the overwhelming majority of Americans who are tired of living with the constant tragedy of gun violence and are in favor of strong laws and policies that will save lives. We are the light that exposes politicians who are putting the American people at risk, empowering the American people to hold them accountable for decisions and actions that undermine public safety.
We are driven by the focused vision of a nation where all Americans are safe at home, at work, at school, and in our communities.
Dan Gross is the President of the Brady Campaign and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. A photo and more information about Dan Gross is available here.
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