Title: The Movement of Illegal Guns in America: The Link Between Gun Laws and Interstate Gun Trafficking

Publication Date: December 2008

What does it say?

States with weaker gun laws are more likely to export crime guns to other states.  Also, criminals who live in weaker gun law states appear better able to acquire guns from in-state sources.  States with weaker gun laws have higher gun murder rates and higher rates of fatal shootings of police officers than stronger gun law states.  

How can I use it?

This report can be used to advocate for the five gun laws used to categorize the states: background checks for all handgun sales at gun shows, purchase permits for all handgun sales, mandatory reporting to law enforcement of lost and stolen guns, and state inspection of gun dealers.   

The report provides a good example of how tracing data can be used to show the effectiveness of gun laws (see also the Brady Center release from June 2008, based on the same data and showing the same outcomes).  It also explains how the federal appropriations rider known as the Tiahrt Amendment hinders the use of crime gun trace data to help law enforcement and advocates understand gun trafficking patterns.  To learn more about the Tiahrt Amendment, click here.  

Citation

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, The Movement of Illegal Guns in America: The Link Between Gun Laws and Interstate Gun Trafficking, December 2008.

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