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The federal government has increased scrutiny of gun stores that sell guns used in crimes, and the number of designated stores has more than doubled in the past four years.
Which gun stores sell the most crime guns has been a secret for more than two decades, since 2003 during the George W. Bush administration. But a Freedom of Information Act request from USA TODAY sheds some light on the story, revealing that the vast majority of guns used in crimes are sold at a small number of gun stores in the United States.
Among the more than 1,300 retailers targeted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 2023 are major retailers such as Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Rural King and Sportsman’s Warehouse. In addition to many, we also include some lesser-known stores such as: Town Guns of Richmond, Virginia and Amo Brothers of Ontario, California.
Gun stores linked to recent high-profile mass shootings have also emerged, including the Louisville, Kentucky-based gun store that sold the AR-15-style rifle that killed five people and injured several others last spring. They include City Firearms and Buzz Guns of Lexington, Kentucky. It was selling the rifle used in the July 4th Highland Park shooting that left seven people dead and 30 injured.
Bass Pro Shops in Denver sells the Glock handgun and Remington shotgun involved in the Aurora theater shooting nearly 12 years ago, and is on the latest list. .
None of these stores or their offices responded to requests for comment. But the head of the gun store lobby criticized the publication of the list as part of the Biden administration’s “honor and shame” campaign aimed at gun stores rather than focusing on criminals.
Larry Keene, executive vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said releasing the store’s name is “inappropriate and counterproductive.” He questioned whether the ATF violated the law by doing so.
“If a store’s name gets published and there are negative articles that suggest it’s a bad guy, they won’t want to cooperate with the ATF as they have in the past,” Keene said. .
The criteria for inclusion on the list is relatively simple: at least 25 guns must have been purchased within the past three years and show signs of crime within a year. In law enforcement parlance, it is known as “time to crime.” A short period is a sign of illegal gun trade.
The Trump administration raised that standard from 10 in 2018 at the request of gun control groups.
Once placed on the list, there will be further monitoring by the ATF. To expose the secondary market for guns used in crimes, dealers would be required to submit additional quarterly reports on used gun purchases.
But this is also a warning to those stores. They are targeted by criminals for gun trafficking and straw purchases – people who are prohibited by law from purchasing guns are hiring proxy buyers.
Tips for getting taken off the list:Gun control groups say small changes can stem the tide of illegal gun trafficking
Gun violence prevention groups have long called for greater accountability for gun dealers, but said the release of the list should encourage gun dealers to stay off the list.
“You realize that for some reason you are being targeted by a human trafficker,” said Josh Scharf, Brady’s legal advisor. “Any responsible businessman would say, ‘I don’t want to supply the criminal market. That’s not why I’m in this business.'”
ATF traces crime guns back to initial purchase
ATF helps police solve crimes by “tracing” crime guns by obtaining the make, model, and serial number and scouring records to find the chain from manufacturer to first retail sale. ”.
ATF representatives are quick to point out that being on the “Demand 2” list does not in itself indicate wrongdoing. Stores and pawnshops participating in the program represent about 3% of the approximately 80,000 licensees nationwide.
“Many factors can be involved in tracking crime guns, including geography, volume of sales, secondary market transfers by initial legal purchasers, and the level of sophistication of gun traffickers. ” ATF spokeswoman Cristina Mastropasqua said in an email.
The sources of crime guns are less publicized, largely due to the efforts of gun control groups and a key Congressional amendment known as Tierhardt.
The 2003 law, named after former Rep. Todd Tierhardt, a Republican, would require ATF to release tracking data to researchers, the public, and even city and state officials not directly involved in the program. It is prohibited.
The little-known Demand 2 program provides a window. The 24-year-old program gained public attention last April when Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) brought it up in a House subcommittee meeting with ATF Director Stephen Dettelbach.
Clyde said many follow-up requests from local law enforcement to the ATF and ultimately to gun dealers involve guns recovered by police or stolen or possessed by people who are prohibited from owning firearms. questioned whether the crime gun tracks were actually involved in a “bona fide” crime. .
What he didn’t mention is that one of the two gun stores he owns, Clyde’s Armory in Athens, Ga., is experiencing additional demand after selling more than 25 guns since 2020. The incident was followed up by a New York newspaper and was later investigated as a crime. The Times then reported in August.
His store is also featured on the 2023 list provided to USA TODAY. Representatives from Clyde’s congressional office referred all questions to his campaign office, which declined to comment on the ATF program or his inclusion on the list.
Bass Pro, Dunham’s, and Scheels are high-volume gun retailers
While the list itself primarily reflects the nation’s largest firearms dealers, advocates argue that weighting time to crime helps dilute the effect of quantity alone.
Bass Pro Shops has 49 stores listed, and nearly a third of the stores, including Cabela’s, are in the United States. Other major retailers: Turner’s Outdoorsman (64% of stores), Scheels (59%), Rural King (26%), Sportman’s Warehouse (21%), Dunham’s Sports (10%).
None of these companies responded to requests for comment.
Mark Tosh, president of a Virginia gun store chain, estimated that retailers that sell more than 2,000 guns a year would be on the list.
“It’s the law of averages,” he said.
Town Gun Shop locations in Richmond and Collinsville, Virginia, are on the ATF list. Tosh blamed the high volume of sales and decades of business. He said the two stores together sell several thousand guns a year. He also expressed no hesitation in working with the ATF to track down crime guns.
“We believe that when you purchase a firearm, you are a law-abiding citizen with good intentions,” he said. “We don’t mind doing our part to trace firearms because it doesn’t always work that way. If we get a call from a tracing center, that’s our top priority. .”
He said straw buyers are difficult to deter, noting that his staff recently notified law enforcement of a buyer who had made three consecutive follow-up requests.
“I had a conversation with the man and thanked him for his business, but I told him I would no longer sell to him because we had to protect him, our staff, and our store.” said Tosh. “I have personally trained his 24 employees to look for straw sales, and all have been given the authority to stop the sales.”
ATF’s latest national gun tracking analysis shows that pistols are by far the most common type of gun involved in crimes, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the time, as opposed to rifles, revolvers, and shotguns. it was done. This explains some of the notable omissions from the Demand 2 list, such as Walmart, which stopped selling handguns in 1993 and also stopped selling some rifles, such as the AR-15, in 2019. There is a high possibility that
The most common manufacturers of handguns tracked in crimes are Glock, Smith & Wesson, Taurus, and Sturm Ruger, accounting for more than half of the handguns tracked. Overall, the most tracked firearm is the Glock 9mm pistol, with approximately 130,000 firearms tracked in crimes between 2017 and 2021.
Overall, the gun industry lobby’s Keene said the Demand 2 program is an effective tool for regulators to track down more used guns. He said the industry is doing its part, pointing to the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s long-standing “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy” campaign to prevent straw purchases and best practices training for members. .
However, he said publishing the Demand 2 list was misleading.
“The fact that you’re in the program doesn’t mean you’re a bad dealer or anything. It just means you’re within the parameters,” Keene said. “No one in the commercial chain knows specifically why the firearms are being tracked. Only that the firearms are being tracked.”
Nick Penzenstadler is a reporter with the USA TODAY investigative team. Contact us at npenz@usatoday.com or @npenzenstadler or call Signal (720) 507-5273.
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