Constitutional Law

Gun traces

As is usual, after ATF releases its gun trace data for the previous year, Brady Center denounces a bunch of States because guns first sold in them have been traced elsewhere. (The purpose is to create the impression that criminals zip over to those States to buy guns and return. Nevermind that traced guns are not the same as crime guns, and that the average lag between first sale and trace is over ten years, meaning that a lot of purchasers -- burglars who stole a gun from them -- will have moved).

Here's PBS picking up Brady's pitch in relation to West Virginia: "On a per capita basis, West Virginia exports the second highest number of guns involved in crimes in the country."

But looking a the ATF tracing date for guns recovered in West Virginia, it looks as if West Virginia has traced guns flooding into it. 37 from Ohio, 27 from Pennsylvania, 9 from Maryland. Not to mention two from New Jersey, the same from California, and one from D.C. About a quarter of West Virginia traced guns came from other States. And while West Virginia traced two guns from California, traced none that came from WV.

Now, we can conclude that West Virginia criminals evade its gun laws by buying in laxly controlled areas such as California and New Jersey. Or was can conclude that in a mobile society, over a period of ten years enough people move to account for some guns tracing to first retail sale in a different State.

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on August 13, 2009 (boomark / email).