In September of 1993, America Online (AOL) granted Usenet access to its subscribers. The infrastructure was crippled by the sudden, overwhelming influx of new users, none of whom knew the protocols or cared to learn. These were the days when a 28.8k modem was considered screamingly fast, bandwidth was precious, nobody had the time to sift through countless “me too!” posts.
In early 1994, Dave Fischer referred to this period as the September that Never Ended, and the name stuck. Usenet was, for all intents, dead as a medium and would never recover.
11/05/08 will go down in history as the gun industry’s version of this phenomenon. I have seen more lunacy in the last six months than I’ve seen in my entire life. I’ve heard conspiracies that would make Art Bell chortle, and trust me, that guy believed in everything. I thought it would die out, but it hasn’t.
Today’s exhibit is a story from the Houston Chronicle entitled “Federal agents hunt for guns, one house at a time.” Essentially, it’s a short bit following law-enforcement as they investigate the owners of guns found at crime scenes in Mexico.
As of this afternoon, it was the main story at the Drudge Report, and people on the gun boards are freaking out, claiming that the government is going door-to-door to confiscate legally-owned firearms. I’ve received at least 11 emails screaming something to the effect of, “I told you this was going to happen!”
Let’s all take a deep breath and a step back.
When a gun gets used in a crime, questions are asked. The ATF (BATFE) has the mandate of investigating the matter. When a gun shows up at a crime scene, a trace request is issued. For example:
- A gun is recovered by the local police.
- They note the manufacturer and serial number (if possible).
- A trace request is sent to the ATF, who then contact the manufacturer of the firearm.
- The manufacturer gives agents the name and premises of the retailer who ordered the gun.
- The ATF then contacts the retailer, who checks his records and pulls the original 4473 (bill of sale).
- The ATF tracks down and interviews the purchaser of the firearm to ensure that he wasn’t responsible for it ending up in the wrong hands.
That’s how it works. If the owner of the gun reported it stolen prior to it being used in a crime, he’s off the hook. If he sold it privately, here’s hoping he kept a bill of sale. Otherwise, he’s got some explaining to do. This guy’s a good example:
The lamest so far came from a police officer: He said he bought a few military-style rifles, left them in his car and – on the same night – forgot to lock a door. He couldn’t explain why he didn’t file a police report or why he visited Mexico the day after the alleged theft.
If you sell a gun privately, make sure you know your buyer, and keep a good record of the transaction. On the off chance the gun gets used to knock over a laundromat, you’ll be thankful.
You’ll notice that nowhere in the scenario above was there a mention of sinister agents in a dark underground bunker logging into a central database to track down civilians’ identities. The current system gives law enforcement a framework in which to track crime guns after the fact, but not to maintain any sort of registry. You can thank the NRA for that. Within a very a hostile political climate in both 1968 and 1993, they fought to make sure that unstoppable legislation would at least be tempered with some civil protections for gun owners.
Retailers are not required to report the identities of purchasers to the government for the most part. Some cities and states may have their own registration requirements, but none exist on the Federal level. The once exception is for multiple handgun purchases.
Licensed dealers are required to report (pdf) multiple purchases of handguns by a single consumer within a 5-day period. As per 18 U.S.C. §923 (g)(3)(B), even these forms are to be destroyed within 20 days if the buyer is not disqualified from buying guns in the first place. If you end up having one of these filed once a year, you probably don’t have to worry. If you have these filed on a weekly basis, expect a visit and a few questions.
None of this is new. Am I happy with the current system? No, but it beats more restrictive and intrusive alternatives.