General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What's Wrong With Gun Registration? [View all]Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)won't change misguided priories and lazy attitudes of federal LE and US Attorneys.
There is more than enough meat on the laws that exist now to go after and prosecute straw buyers, but the Feds and US Attorneys don't do it because they see it as low priority and not "sexy" enough.
Hell, the 18 year old girl who bought the guns for the Colunbine killers because they were under 18 was never even charged- because they don't care about it.
80,000 people commit a federal felony every year by trying to illegally buy a gun at a dealer. The Feds prosecute less than 100 of those 80,000 a year. They don't care that people ineligible to own guns commit a felony trying to get one and leave them alone to go pursue illegal means to obtain one
Because despite all the laws and tools available the Department of Justice doesn't care and doesn't want to be bothered with enforcing the laws regarding straw purchases and committing perjury when trying to buy a gun.
When I was a deputy I had a case where a girlfriend bought a shotgun for her boyfriend who she was fully aware could not buy a gun because he had a domestic violence protection order from his estranged wife. I had her on video, in our interview room admitting to doing it, as well as copies of all the paperwork. It was a 100% slam dunk case to prosecute. I handed it to the Feds because as a local deputy I couldn't go after violations of Federal law, they have to. They did one interview with her trying to see if she was useful as an informant on any cases they were working, mostly around motorcycle gangs, and when they realized she wasn't in a position to be forced to be an informant in exchange for a lighter sentence they decided she wasn't worth even prosecuting at all. It was a 100% perfect slam dunk case and they couldn't be bothered to do anything with it.
A new database and billions spent on it won't change that. It's not that there are not enough tools to catch these people and put them away now- it's that they just don't care.