FFLs Rarely Traffic Illegal Guns According to ATF Report
Author: Jack Collins | Publish Date: Apr 09, 2024
Last week, the ATF released a comprehensive report on the state of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs – licensed gun stores) in the US. It’s the first such report released in two decades – since the height of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (FAWB) – and appears to show something that those who work in the gun industry already know: that federally licensed gun stores are generally not a source of illegal guns used in crimes. Here’s how the report breaks down.
FFLS Rarely Traffic Illegal Guns
When it comes to gun crimes, offenders aren’t getting their guns from federally-licensed dealers. According to the ATF’s National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment, licensed dealers only accounted for 136 cases of illegal gun trafficking between 2017 and 2021. There have been 9,700 total cases during that time. That means less than 0.1% of all the 134,516 FFLs nationwide have contributed to illegal gun trafficking.
That marks a huge shift since the last time the ATF released this kind of report. Today, FFLs only account for less than 2% of all illegally trafficked guns. That’s down from 9% in 2000, during the FAWB. There are two big reasons for this decrease.
- Gun industry groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have actually worked with the ATF on several campaigns to reduce illegal arms trafficking. One example is the “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy” campaign, which has helped to significantly cut down on straw purchases (more on those later).
- FFLs have improved their security systems, so it’s much harder for criminals to break in and steal guns.
Where Do Illegal Guns Come From?
Okay, so we’ve established that FFLs don’t usually traffick guns. So where exactly do these guns come from?
According to the ATF, the vast majority of trafficked guns come from one of two sources. One of them is private sales – transfers from one private citizen to another, with no FFL involved in the specific sale. The other source is straw purchases, or when one person buys a gun for somebody else who can’t legally own a firearm. Specifically, the ATF’s report says that about 80% of illegally trafficked guns come from private sales.
Another big source of illegally trafficked firearms is stolen guns. In fact, one in four illegal guns is stolen. That’s why it’s so important to keep your guns locked up somewhere that’s generally inaccessible to anyone but yourself.
Final Thoughts
Long story short, it appears as though legally-purchased guns are rarely used in gun crimes. That means the current administration's strategy of targeting gun stores (which saw hundreds of stores forced to close last year) is attacking the wrong problem. Hopefully, the ATF’s report can help lawmakers re-focus on initiatives that will actually help reduce gun crimes.