WASHINGTON (UPI) – The number of gun dealers in the United States has dropped more than 70 percent since 1993, when the Brady Bill was passed, a survey
by Violence Policy Center said Thursday.
The study found much of the decline was due to the reduction in the number of "kitchen-table" gun dealers who sell guns out of their homes rather than storefronts.
"This study shows, pure and simple, that the Brady Bill and other gun dealer regulations worked," Thom Mannard, executive director of Illinois Council Against
Handgun Violence, said at a Chicago news conference.
"Not only has the Brady Law stopped criminals from buying guns, it has reduced the indiscriminate home sales of guns, especially from kitchen tables and garages."
The number of gun dealers fell from 245,628 in 1994 – more than 74 percent of them kitchen-table dealers – to 69,591 this year. Currently, kitchen-table dealers
represent 56 percent of gun dealers.
Soaring Fees Put Dealers out of Business
Some of the decline likely is attributable to higher licensing fees, which went from $10 a year to $200 for the first three years and then $90 for every three-year
period thereafter under the Brady Law. Also credited (or blamed, depending on whether you oppose or support Second Amendment rights) was the 1994 Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, requiring licensees to submit pictures and fingerprints with their applications to certify compliance with all state and local
laws.
Violence Policy Center recommended the federal government require all gun dealers to operate out of storefronts and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
be given the authority to suspend a dealer's license and inspect gun shops for violations. It also recommended loopholes allowing dealers to divert inventory to private
collections be closed and that dealers be required to make sure their inventories are securely stored.
Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
by Violence Policy Center said Thursday.
The study found much of the decline was due to the reduction in the number of "kitchen-table" gun dealers who sell guns out of their homes rather than storefronts.
"This study shows, pure and simple, that the Brady Bill and other gun dealer regulations worked," Thom Mannard, executive director of Illinois Council Against
Handgun Violence, said at a Chicago news conference.
"Not only has the Brady Law stopped criminals from buying guns, it has reduced the indiscriminate home sales of guns, especially from kitchen tables and garages."
The number of gun dealers fell from 245,628 in 1994 – more than 74 percent of them kitchen-table dealers – to 69,591 this year. Currently, kitchen-table dealers
represent 56 percent of gun dealers.
Soaring Fees Put Dealers out of Business
Some of the decline likely is attributable to higher licensing fees, which went from $10 a year to $200 for the first three years and then $90 for every three-year
period thereafter under the Brady Law. Also credited (or blamed, depending on whether you oppose or support Second Amendment rights) was the 1994 Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, requiring licensees to submit pictures and fingerprints with their applications to certify compliance with all state and local
laws.
Violence Policy Center recommended the federal government require all gun dealers to operate out of storefronts and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
be given the authority to suspend a dealer's license and inspect gun shops for violations. It also recommended loopholes allowing dealers to divert inventory to private
collections be closed and that dealers be required to make sure their inventories are securely stored.
Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved.