Four in 10 illegal gun cases tracked by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were involved in black market sales, including from shadow dealers who used a legal loophole to evade background checks, according to an analysis of firearms trafficking released on Thursday.
About another 40 percent of gun investigations initiated by federal officials centered on illegal “straw” purchases made by proxies hired by criminals, or other people prohibited from legally buying weapons for themselves because of drug use or mental illnesses.
The report, part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to make public previously undisclosed firearms data, offered an expansive portrait of the country’s growing illegal firearms market — including the origin of weapons and trafficking patterns.
investigations from 2017 to 2021 — a period that included the biggest surge in gun violence in decades.
But it is likely to undercount more recent developments, such as the rapid proliferation of deadly homemade weapons known as “ghost guns,” federal officials said.
Persons:
Biden
Organizations:
Bureau, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives