The right way to stop gun violence [View all]

[UnrepentantLiberal]

By Stephen Henderson
The Detroit Free Press
Jan 20, 2013

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"A study of ATF gun trafficking cases found that the largest conduits of gun trafficking involved illegal straw purchases (someone buying the gun for someone who can't) and corrupt licensed gun dealers evading gun sales laws," Webster told me last week.

"A separate ATF study found that over half of guns recovered from criminals and crime scenes were traced to 1% of licensed dealers. I've conducted several studies demonstrating that when there is greater regulation and oversight of gun dealers, and when they are vulnerable to civil and criminal penalties if they do not obey gun sales laws, far fewer guns flow into the illicit gun market where criminals obtain their guns."

The constitution permits legislation that revokes an individual's freedom for life after the commission of a third serious crime. Logically, it should also permit the stiffest possible penalties for gun shops caught evading safeguards intended to keep guns from criminals.

And gun owners could be held more responsible, too. If I give a car to someone who's not licensed to drive and they kill someone with it, I could be held liable. If a legal gun owner sells a firearm to someone who shouldn't have it, liability (certainly civil, maybe even criminal) ought to attach in that context, as well.

More: http://www.freep.com/article/20130120/COL33/301200174/Stephen-Henderson-The-right-way-to-stop-gun-violence