Title: U.S. Gun Shops "Lost" More Than 30,000 Firearms Last Year

Publication Date: June 2008

What does it say?

Gun dealers “lost” an average of at least 82 firearms every day last year, totaling more than 30,000 firearms unaccounted for in gun dealers’ inventory in fiscal year 2007, according to a Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence analysis of new data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) released this month.

The 30,000 missing guns are likely an undercount of the total number of guns that disappeared from gun shops in 2007.  ATF conducted compliance inspections at approximately 10,000 of the nation’s 60,000 gun dealers in fiscal year 2007, finding over 30,000 firearms missing from the dealers’ inventory with no record of sale.  The other 50,000 dealers were not inspected last year due to limited ATF resources. 

In fiscal year 2005, ATF examined 3,083 gun dealers and found 12,274 missing firearms.

How can I use it?

Use the information in this study to advocate for new legal authority for law enforcement so they can crack down on corrupt gun dealers.

Citation

Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, U.S. Gun Shops "Lost" More Than 30,000 Firearms Last Year, June 17, 2008