"
But the purchase of ten handguns over the course of three years isn't very unusual. "
Well, you got
one right at last....
"Washington, D.C. -- Most American gun dealers surveyed in a new study are willing to engage in illegal sales to "straw buyers" seeking to purchase guns on behalf of others. More than 50 percent of dealers surveyed said they would sell a handgun regardless of who the end user is if a prospective purchaser says that the end user is someone who "needs it," according to a study published today in the June issue of Injury Prevention.
The study, "Buying a handgun for someone else: Firearm dealer willingness to sell," was conducted by Susan B. Sorenson and Katherine A. Vittes, of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Public Health, and published in the July issue of Injury Prevention, a scholarly journal.
The study showed that some dealers "appeared willing to ignore or sidestep relevant information even when told that the end user was prohibited from purchasing a firearm." Some 52.5 percent of dealers who were asked if a caller could purchase a handgun for a boyfriend or girlfriend "because he/she needs it" said yes."
http://www.jointogether.org/gv/news/alerts/reader/0%2C2061%2C564015%2C00.html"The City of Detroit and Wayne County joined the legal fray Monday to slow gun violence by suing firearms manufacturers and dealers after officers posing as felons and underage buyers easily bought guns during stings.
Officials said gun makers and dealers use the strategy of "willful blindness" to maintain an illegitimate gun market.
Between March 24 and April 14, undercover teams from the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, Prosecutor's Office, airport police and private investigators posing as juveniles and convicted felons tried to buy weapons at 10 licensed gun dealers. Those trying to buy the guns told the dealer they were underage or a felon. The buyer's friend, the straw purchaser, would use his name on the paperwork. Nine dealers sold guns in illegal straw purchases.
One dealer told the officers such a straw purchase was highly illegal. Another joked about teenagers being shot. Charges against the gun dealers are being considered, Ficano said."
http://www.freep.com/news/locway/qguns27.htm"The suit came after a 1999 sting operation revealed police officers made nine successful "straw" purchases at local gun dealers. The illegal practice of straw purchases involve people buying a gun with the intent of transferring it to a convicted felon or other person forbidden to have one.
The argument centered on the responsibility of the gun manufacturers and dealers for the crimes committed by gun buyers and users. More than 240 crime-related guns could be traced to one dealer, Westforth Sports Inc. in Gary, Seibel said.
He said there is a "tight connection between the manufacturers' conduct and dealers' conduct and harm to the city" that the businesses don't attempt to stop. Handgun violence has created a general fear to use public places and has diminished property value, he said.
"The supply of guns is like a toxic cesspool the city must clean up," Seibel said."
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/02/28/news/region_and_state/b8bb44123706898786256cdb00129561.txt"Riverside police officer Mike Pelissero survived his close call with a weapon sold illegally by B and E Guns. A drug suspect fired at him and missed--then the gun jammed.
At least two homicide victims were less fortunate, killed by guns that reached the street through B and E of Cypress, which operated for years despite repeated violations of federal law. The gun merchant, formerly one of the state's highest-volume dealers, had illegally falsified records to conceal transfers of thousands of firearms, according to court documents and records obtained by The Times under the Freedom of Information Act.
The B and E case and others like it show how unscrupulous dealers, with the imprimatur of a federal firearms license, can be enablers of gun violence on a large scale. Such dealers can be difficult to put out of business or to prosecute, and when convicted they can expect far more lenient treatment than the crooks who buy their wares."
http://www.nisat.org/blackmarket/north_america/united_states/united_states_of_america/2000.06.01-Corrupt%20Dealers%20Expose%20Weakness%20in%20Gun%20Laws.html