Interstate Gun Trafficking, The NRA, And The Boston Marathon Bombers

[SecularMotion]

Reports that the handgun used by Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev originated in Maine should come as no surprise given guns are routinely trafficked from states with weak gun laws to states with stronger gun laws like Massachusetts. Meanwhile, attempts to create a federal law to crack down on gun trafficking have been stifled by the National Rifle Association.

Following the April 15, 2013, bombings that left three dead and hundreds wounded, the Tsarnaev brothers attempted to elude a massive police manhunt. On the evening of April 18 a Ruger handgun was used by the brothers to kill MIT police officer Sean Collier. Hours later the pistol was used again in a firefight that left MBTA officer Richard Donohue seriously wounded. On May 12, Los Angeles Times federal law enforcement and terrorism reporter Richard Serrano reported that the firearm was purchased at a Maine gun store, and "passed" to a well-known Portland, ME gang leader, before being obtained by Tsarnaev.

Massachusetts has the sixth strongest gun laws in the United States and also has the second lowest gun death rate, according to rankings by The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. When guns are used in crimes in Massachusetts, they are most often trafficked from other states (although the National Rifle Association's official state affiliate has denied this regularly occurs).

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was able to determine the origin of 999 Massachusetts crime guns in 2012; 453 came from in-state while 546 were trafficked from other states. Maine accounted for the second largest number of out of state gun traces after New Hampshire. The top six crime gun importers to Massachusetts -- New Hampshire, Maine, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina -- all received a D or worse grade in the Brady Campaign/LCPGV gun law ranking. Overall the rankings found a correlation between weak gun laws and the exporting of crime guns into states with strong gun laws.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/05/14/interstate-gun-trafficking-the-nra-and-the-bost/199303

[Nuclear Unicorn]

1. If guns can be trafficked across state lines why can't they be traficked internationally

like drugs and alcohol was during Prohibition?

[ileus]

2. Bombs kill people...

[Duckhunter935]

3. background check for all

pressure cookers

[Straw Man]

4. No law?

On May 12, Los Angeles Times federal law enforcement and terrorism reporter Richard Serrano reported that the firearm was purchased at a Maine gun store, and "passed" to a well-known Portland, ME gang leader, before being obtained by Tsarnaev

There is no "direct" federal law that makes gun trafficking a crime. Currently gun traffickers can be charged with lying on the background check form about who the gun's intended owner is, but federal prosecutors are hesitant to devote resources to what would amount to paperwork violations that are difficult to prove under current law.

The only thing true about the first statement is that the laws aimed at preventing this don't have "trafficking" in their verbiage. The "paperwork violation" is a federal felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The straw purchaser violated that law. The gang leader who received the firearm committed two other felonies: one in receiving it and another in passing it to Tsarnaev.