Unable to show inspectors the required paperwork about who had the guns, Kesselring’s owners were hindering police efforts to trace any guns found at crime scenes, putting the public at risk.
how often are guns found at crime scenes and still an unknown suspect? Why would a criminal just drop the gun, especially when gangs often use community guns?
We know from the Wright Rossi study that criminals don't go to gun shops or gun shows even in the 1980s, so there is a greater chance that any gun found would have been entered in NCIC as stolen. I am no way excusing the ATF's lack of attention, nor the store's lack of compliance, but know nothing journalists are annoying.
In its 2005 inspection, the ATF not only discovered 2,396 unaccountable weapons but also a host of other illegalities: failing to secure caches of explosive powder; selling guns to customers who couldn’t pass background checks; not confirming buyer identity in 78 instances; neglecting to report missing guns to law enforcement.
So, what did they about it then? Those are some serious GCA violations. That isn't the lack of manpower or funding for ATF. That sounds more like ATF and US attorney being derelict in their duty.
In 2012, the Seattle division, for example, had only 27 inspectors to cover 4,006 licensed gun dealers in five states and Guam. It was understaffed by 32 jobs, making it the third-worst of ATF’s 25 divisions for understaffing.
That comes out to 174 per inspector. How many days does it take to do an inspection?
That does not excuse just showing up once every ten years and taking nine years to do something about one of the worst examples of criminal mismanagement. They could use more inspectors, but that doesn't explain this mess.
As for the retired agent's "gun laws are too weak", sorry dude. You only half assed enforced the ones on the books now, and chances are, you were part of the generation that concentrated on minor violations with no criminal intent instead of going after thieves and traffickers because the former was easier and safer.
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