From Sen. Schumer, that font of accurate gun data. As someone said, "Schumer talking gun control using ATF info is like Josef Goebbel claiming death camps don't exist using SS data.".
http://chblue.com/Article.asp?ID=504
Florida Supplies Most of the Guns Used in Out-of-State Crimes
Monday, July 10, 2000
By BILL STRAUB
WASHINGTON - Florida, which has no licensing, permitting or registration requirement for any firearm, leads the nation in supplying guns used in out-of-state crimes.
A study conducted by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., based on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) data, shows that 2,065 firearms traced back to Florida were used in crimes carried out in other states in 1999.
The leading destination for these "crime guns" was New York, where 340 confiscated weapons were traced to Florida.
Schumer, a gun control advocate, said weak laws and easy accessibility in states like Florida effectively undercut the efforts of states that have stricter gun laws to control crime. Lax gun laws in one state, he said, "translate into murder and mayhem in another."
"A Georgia criminal using a New York gun is a rarity," Schumer said. "A New York criminal using a Georgia gun is commonplace. Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Texas are habitual bad actors. Straw buyers know that these states have a don't ask, don't tell policy toward selling guns and law enforcement is helpless in stopping them."
Following Florida among the top 12 states producing guns used in out-of-state crimes were Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, California, Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Arizona, Alabama and North Carolina.
According to the report, Ohio in 1999 was the origin point for 1,068 guns used in the commission of out-of-state crimes, ranking behind only Indiana - sixth with 1,479 - in the Midwest.
The states most affected by the Ohio trade, according to the study, are New York, Illinois and Michigan. All three have what Schumer described as "some of the strongest gun laws in the country."
ATF statistics further established that 120 guns traced to Ohio were used in the commission of crimes in Michigan, where handguns must be registered and owners must pass a safety training course.
Ohio's weak gun laws are making it difficult for nearby states with strong gun laws to reduce violent crime.
"A handful of states with weak gun control laws are the source of thousands of guns used by criminals in states with strong gun control laws," the report said.
"The gun lobby is very potent in Ohio," said Kristen Rand, director of federal policy for the Violence Policy Center in Washington. "They haven't passed any laws to discourage any activity of this sort. The way it manifests itself is Ohio contributes significantly to illegal gun trafficking and studies show that Ohio is a very significant contributor and leads the list as far as northern states."
The situation in states producing the most guns used in out-of-state crimes isn't universally seen as a problem. Ronald Dickson, of Oxford, Ohio, who operates one of the largest privately promoted gun shows in the world - National Gun Day in Louisville, Ky., - said most of the weapons are being circulated among collectors and hunters.
© 2000 Scripps Howard News Service
http://chblue.com/Article.asp?ID=504
Florida Supplies Most of the Guns Used in Out-of-State Crimes
Monday, July 10, 2000
By BILL STRAUB
WASHINGTON - Florida, which has no licensing, permitting or registration requirement for any firearm, leads the nation in supplying guns used in out-of-state crimes.
A study conducted by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., based on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) data, shows that 2,065 firearms traced back to Florida were used in crimes carried out in other states in 1999.
The leading destination for these "crime guns" was New York, where 340 confiscated weapons were traced to Florida.
Schumer, a gun control advocate, said weak laws and easy accessibility in states like Florida effectively undercut the efforts of states that have stricter gun laws to control crime. Lax gun laws in one state, he said, "translate into murder and mayhem in another."
"A Georgia criminal using a New York gun is a rarity," Schumer said. "A New York criminal using a Georgia gun is commonplace. Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Texas are habitual bad actors. Straw buyers know that these states have a don't ask, don't tell policy toward selling guns and law enforcement is helpless in stopping them."
Following Florida among the top 12 states producing guns used in out-of-state crimes were Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, California, Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Arizona, Alabama and North Carolina.
According to the report, Ohio in 1999 was the origin point for 1,068 guns used in the commission of out-of-state crimes, ranking behind only Indiana - sixth with 1,479 - in the Midwest.
The states most affected by the Ohio trade, according to the study, are New York, Illinois and Michigan. All three have what Schumer described as "some of the strongest gun laws in the country."
ATF statistics further established that 120 guns traced to Ohio were used in the commission of crimes in Michigan, where handguns must be registered and owners must pass a safety training course.
Ohio's weak gun laws are making it difficult for nearby states with strong gun laws to reduce violent crime.
"A handful of states with weak gun control laws are the source of thousands of guns used by criminals in states with strong gun control laws," the report said.
"The gun lobby is very potent in Ohio," said Kristen Rand, director of federal policy for the Violence Policy Center in Washington. "They haven't passed any laws to discourage any activity of this sort. The way it manifests itself is Ohio contributes significantly to illegal gun trafficking and studies show that Ohio is a very significant contributor and leads the list as far as northern states."
The situation in states producing the most guns used in out-of-state crimes isn't universally seen as a problem. Ronald Dickson, of Oxford, Ohio, who operates one of the largest privately promoted gun shows in the world - National Gun Day in Louisville, Ky., - said most of the weapons are being circulated among collectors and hunters.
© 2000 Scripps Howard News Service