Gun Dealer Reform
Gun Dealer Reform
What does this solve?
Laws on how gun stores conduct their business have not been strengthened since the 1960s. Congress should pass comprehensive gun dealer reform.
Gun dealer reform should include requiring updated best practices for store security, record keeping, training, and ensuring that gun dealers who violate the law and endanger public safety can be swiftly held accountable. In addition, the federal agency that regulates gun dealers, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), needs the resources and authority to protect the public.
Myth & Fact
Myth
There is nothing a gun dealer can do to stop a criminal from getting a gun.
Fact
Laws requiring record keeping, videotaping and store security, and regular inspection can help make sure gun dealers are not susceptible to straw purchasers or gun traffickers. Intrastate gun trafficking was 64% lower in places with strong gun dealer regulations and oversight.
Featured Resources
Inside the Gun Shop: Firearms Dealers and Their Impact
This report spells out the basic facts about licensed dealers and the relationship between these dealers and gun crimes.
Who is Manufacturing Crime Guns? City-Level Data on Crime Gun Recoveries by Manufacturer
This analysis sought to answer the question of which gun manufacturers’ weapons are showing up at America’s crime scenes.
The Gun Industry’s Power Broker: A Closer Look at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the Front Group for America’s Gun Makers and Sellers
The NSSF isn’t as well known as the NRA, but it is just as extreme and exacerbates our gun violence epidemic.
Unchecked: An Investigation of the Online Firearm Marketplace
The online firearm marketplace has emerged as a growing market for anonymous gun purchases through websites such as Armslist.
All Resources
Gun Dealer Reform
All Resources
The Smoking Gun
An online resource committed to exposing the gun industry’s role in our gun violence epidemic today.
Everytown Research & PolicyGhost Guns Recoveries and Shootings
Everytown Research & Policy has collected examples of reported murders and shootings using ghost guns since 2013.
Data Tracker
The Firearms Industry and the Paycheck Protection Program
Despite a record year in sales and demand, the firearms industry received extensive support from the paycheck protection program in 2020.
Report
Five Things to Know About Crime Guns, Gun Trafficking, and Background Checks
The current patchwork of state laws makes it easy for individuals to traffic firearms from states with weaker gun laws.
Report
The Danger of No-Questions-Asked Gun Sales Between Strangers
These stories are examples of tragedies that could have been prevented if a background check was required when the shooter bought their gun.
Fact SheetArmed and Dangerous: How the Gun Lobby Enshrines Guns as Tools of the Extreme Right
For decades, the gun lobby has enabled extremists to access guns through its opposition of common sense gun laws.
Report
Update Background Check Laws
Updating federal and state laws to require background checks on all gun sales is a common-sense way to keep guns out of the wrong hands.
Fact Sheet
Stolen Guns Pose a Tremendous Risk to Public Safety
Thousands of guns are stolen every year and often wind up at crime scenes. Stolen guns pose a tremendous risk to public safety.
Fact Sheet
Business As Usual
History of a Loophole Americans suffer from an extraordinary rate of gun violence, 20 times higher than nations with comparable levels of economic development.
Report