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Report Lost and Stolen Guns

    Report Lost and Stolen Guns

      What does this solve?

      Hundreds of thousands of guns are lost or stolen from private gun owners, gun dealers, or shipping companies every year. Requiring that lost and stolen guns be reported to law enforcement deters illegal gun trafficking. The reporting of these guns allows the police to respond more quickly to gun thefts and helps them identify tracking patterns.

      Stolen guns are often diverted into an underground market where people with dangerous histories are able to easily obtain firearms.1Philip J. Cook, “Gun Markets,” Annual Review of Criminology 1 (2018): 359–77, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-032317-092149; ATF, “National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFTCA), Volume II: Crime Gun Intelligence and Analysis—Part V: Firearm Thefts,” January 2023, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-ii-part-v-firearm-thefts/download. Lost and stolen guns have been recovered at the scenes of violent crimes,2Brian Freskos, “Missing Pieces: Gun Theft From Legal Gun Owners is on the Rise, Quietly Fueling Violent Crime,” The Trace, November 20, 2017, https://www.thetrace.org/2017/11/stolen-guns-violent-crime-america/. shootings on school grounds, and unintentional shootings by children. Passing laws requiring gun owners to report guns that have been lost or stolen to law enforcement can help prevent illegal gun trafficking and gun violence.

      How it Works

      Reporting lost or stolen guns may reduce underground gun sales and illegal gun trafficking.

      Gun Thefts from Cars: The Largest Source of Stolen Guns Report

      Federal law requires firearm dealers to report firearms that are lost or stolen from their inventory to local authorities and to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).118 U.S.C. 923(g)(6); 27 CFR 478.39a and 479.141; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, “Report Firearms Theft or Loss: Reporting for Federal Firearms Licensees,” September 23, 2022, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/report-firearms-theft-or-loss. Although more than 95 percent of stolen guns come from thefts from private gun owners,2ATF, “National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFTCA), Volume II: Crime Gun Intelligence and Analysis—Part V: Firearm Thefts,” January 2023, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-ii-part-v-firearm-thefts/download. with the exception of weapons registered under the National Firearms Act, federal law does not require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement.

      Laws requiring that lost and stolen guns be reported to law enforcement are associated with significant reductions in gun trafficking. One study found that these laws reduced traced illegal gun movement by 46 percent compared to states that do not have such laws.3Leo H. Kahane, “Understanding the Interstate Export of Crime Guns: A Gravity Model Approach,” Contemporary Economic Policy 31, no. 3 (2012): 618–34, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-7287.2012.00324.x. Another study found that mandatory-reporting laws were associated with a 30 percent lower risk that guns would be purchased in that state and recovered after a crime in another state.4Daniel W. Webster et al., “Preventing the Diversion of Guns to Criminals Through Effective Firearm Sales Laws,” in Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis, (Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013): 109–21, https://bit.ly/3Ic334l. In addition to other policies to help prevent gun theft, including requiring secure gun storage at home and in vehicles and promoting public awareness of the benefits of secure storage, lawmakers should pass laws to affirmatively require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement for investigation immediately when they go missing.

      By the numbers

      Which states require reporting of lost and stolen guns?

      17 states have adopted this policy

      AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Alabama has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Alaska has not adopted this policy

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      Arizona has not adopted this policy

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      Arkansas has not adopted this policy

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      California has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Colorado has adopted this policy

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      Connecticut has adopted this policy

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      Delaware has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Florida has not adopted this policy

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      Georgia has not adopted this policy

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      Hawaii has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Idaho has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Illinois has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Indiana has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Iowa has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Kansas has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Kentucky has not adopted this policy

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      Louisiana has not adopted this policy

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      Maine has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Maryland has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Massachusetts has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Michigan has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Minnesota has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Mississippi has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Missouri has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Montana has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Nebraska has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Nevada has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      New Hampshire has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      New Jersey has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      New Mexico has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      New York has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      North Carolina has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      North Dakota has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Ohio has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Oklahoma has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Oregon has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Rhode Island has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      South Carolina has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      South Dakota has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Tennessee has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Texas has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Utah has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Vermont has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Virginia has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Washington has adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      West Virginia has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Wisconsin has not adopted this policy

      Lost and Stolen Reporting

      Wyoming has not adopted this policy

      Myth

      Lost and stolen reporting laws only re-victimize and penalize gun owners when the focus should be on criminals.

      Fact

      Most lost and stolen reporting laws only have consequences to gun owners who fail to alert law enforcement when their guns are lost or stolen. Lost and stolen reporting laws are associated with a 30 percent lower risk that guns would be purchased in that state and recovered after a crime in another state.1Daniel W. Webster et al., “Preventing the Diversion of Guns to Criminals Through Effective Firearm Sales Laws,” in Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis, (Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013): 109–21, https://bit.ly/3Ic334l.

      Featured Resources

      Report Lost and Stolen Guns

      All Resources

      Did you know?

      Between 2017 and 2021, there were 6,008 reported incidents of theft or loss from interstate shipping companies, involving 13,145 firearms.

      ATF, “National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFTCA), Volume II: Crime Gun Intelligence and Analysis—Part V: Firearm Thefts,” January 2023, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-ii-part-v-firearm-thefts/download.