While the ATF and Attorney General Merrick Garland focus on reducing illegal straw purchases, the data shows that the vast majority of firearms are sold long before they’re recovered as crime guns.
Only 11% of firearms traced by the ATF in 2021 were used in a crime within the first 90 days of purchase. Meanwhile, more than 46% of crime guns had a time to crime of more than 36 months. It would appear that firearms are not being purchased via legal means by purchasers intent on committing crimes.
Continue reading America’s Stolen Guns: A Silent Contributor to Gun Crimes in the U.S. (2023) here: https://ammo.com/articles/gun-theft-statistics