I just came here to say that it would be helpful in case of a manufacturer’s recall, which can happen to guns too.
AFAIK, it is not illegal to make a gun in your garage, but the safety valve in that system is that most people don’t have the competency to use these machine tools.
What the “ghost guns” have done is created a situation where people with far less mechanical competency (whether a little or a lot, depending on which news articles you read) can complete what is done to make a gun, making these self made guns more prevalent.
That is the debate. Are these people selling guns? They contend that they are selling gun parts, which is perfectly legal online and without background checks or licensed dealers. Not all parts are serialized. Your toothpaste is a completed product. The cap is not.
But you see, that isn’t illegal. per se.
Now sure, with a slew of illegal guns coming in, the police might want to plug that source.
If gun parts are legal, and so is making a gun in your garage, then what is the debate? Is the debate whether all “gun parts” sold should be serialized, so that the same spring or metal billet or 3d printer that does not need a serial number must have one if sold as a gun kit?
This is vaguely analogous to when they tried to ban “hacking tools” in Germany. But I think you can only be punished for committing actual criminal acts? I’m no jurist; perhaps someone knows more about the fate of that legislation.
Not all the time.
A 9mm Glock handgun left at the scene has been traced by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators to James and a pawn shop in Columbus, law enforcement said. The suspect purchased it there in 2011, sources said.
Straw purchasing and selling to prohibited persons isn’t illegal, per se?
There’s a whole slew of prohibited people with guns, wouldn’t the police want to find that source?
It is intent. You can buy a gun, and resell it. Totally legal in most states. Fine under Federal Law.
You can’t buy a gun with the intent to sell to a prohibited person.
Also, you can’t sell knowingly to a prohibited person. So, just don’t ask questions.
It is not uncommon for a dude to buy a few pistols when on “big sale” then make a profit reselling them later. Totally Legal in most states.
As for your next question, it depends. Police dept want closed cases. You find a shooter, gun still in hand, you get a confession, and other solid evidence- you have a closed case. Good.
Why do you want to open a new case, if the guy is out of state anyway and outside your jurisdiction? That means- a NOT closed case. Bad.
Now if the AG decides it is a big issue, he might start a task force. But generally that is a LOT of work and staff hours for a small result. The source is likely to be a dozen small timers, and most of them in another state.
Detectives are not in the business of reducing crime. They are in the business of getting arrests and convictions. Of course, a good arrest and conviction will reduce crime, of course, but that is a side benefit.
Elected Officials do want to reduce crime, but at the same time save tax dollars.
And how would the authorities know if they never ask.
I’d think that it’d be turned over to ATF for them to follow up.
Because bad guys lie.
ATF can’t do anything. It is not illegal.
Huh, sounds like some pretty massive loopholes that allow guns to get into the hands of criminals.
Speaking of Law & Order I believe there was an episode where there was a murder on the subway and they searched the tracks for the gun. They found three but none of them was the murder weapon. And then one of them was found to be linked to a cold case/.
You find a lot more guns than cannoli.
/humor
Back in the day (summer of 2004, IIRC) I was in graduate school and worked the gun counter at a Sports Authority.
One purpose of serial numbers was inventory control of guns- we had to basically log the guns out of the “vault” every morning, and log them back in every night by serial number. That way, there was no question of theft, replacement with an airsoft gun, and so forth.
And for what it’s worth, the ATF Form 4473 that you have to fill out to get your NICS (instant background check) performed before you can buy a gun requires the make and serial number as well. The dealer’s required to retain that form for 20 years on completed sales, and 5 years on ones wheret the buyer fails the NICS check.
And the SN goes into the dealers record of sale log, which the dealer is required to cough up to the ATF on request.
So there’s some minimal traceability, but the ATF has to know what dealer to start with, and pore over a bunch of handwritten forms to figure out who bought a gun.
The “private sale loophole” is basically that if you sell a gun to someone else in a private sale, you don’t have to perform a NICS check, and nor does a form 4473 have to be filled out or retained by anyone. And gun shows technically count as private sales in many states.
The way they do gun shows around here, if you have a table set up it’s just like going into a gun dealer’s shop. You have to fill out the forms, do the background check, etc.
If you are just a person attending the gun show, you can sell to any other person who is attending the gun show and that is a private sale. There aren’t many people walking around selling guns though.
It’s not the massive loophole that some people think it is, at least not around here (southern PA).
Are you certain that this is required of all sellers with a table and not just those that have an FFL? Most states allow private (nonlicensees) sellers to have a table at a gun show. The trick bag is there is no set number of firearms a private seller can sell before they can be compelled to get a federal dealers license. On the other hand unlicensed sellers are not able to buy guns wholesale from distributors like licensees can.
As a licensed gun dealer I can sell a gun without conducting a Brady. It just has to be from my personal collection and has to have been there over 1 year IF it originally came from my businesses inventory.
I often see tables with a sign stating “Private Collection”.
I used to have an FFL, but gave it up over 20 years ago. I still get calls from LEOs asking about specific guns I sold. They have the serial number and are able to ascertain that the distributor sold the gun to me. They want to know who I sold the gun to. Now, when I gave up my FFL, I had to send all my records to the ATF. I can only assume that my records are sitting in a big warehouse next to the Lost Ark of the Covenant and are inaccessible.
Nitpick: The markings on a firearm include the cartridge type, not the bore. On a shotgun, the marking for this is basically the bore, but many rifles and shotguns have identical bores but use different cartridges.