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Prevent Gun Trafficking

    Prevent Gun Trafficking

      What does this solve?

      Gun trafficking is arming lethal violence around the country. Hundreds of thousands of guns are illegally channeled into communities, where they are used in shootings and other violent crimes.

      ATF should work to shut down known trafficking networks and identify dealers who supply these guns through their own negligence or complicity. But particularly in the absence of strict policy guidance and robust enforcement at the federal level, it is critical for states to take action to combat gun trafficking.

      Which states give law enforcement tools designed to address crime guns?

      29 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

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Alabama has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Alaska has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Arizona has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Arkansas has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      California has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Colorado has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Connecticut has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Delaware has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Florida has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Georgia has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Hawaii has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Idaho has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Illinois has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Indiana has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Iowa has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Kansas has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Kentucky has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Louisiana has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Maine has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Maryland has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Massachusetts has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      No

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Michigan has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Minnesota has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Mississippi has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Missouri has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Montana has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Nebraska has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Nevada has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      New Hampshire has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      New Jersey has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      New Mexico has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      New York has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      North Carolina has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      No

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      North Dakota has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Ohio has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Oklahoma has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Oregon has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      No

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Pennsylvania has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Rhode Island has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      South Carolina has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      South Dakota has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Tennessee has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Texas has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Utah has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Vermont has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Virginia has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      Yes
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Washington has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      West Virginia has not adopted this policy

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Wisconsin has adopted this policy

      Does the state require crime guns to be traced?
      No
      Does the state have a trafficking and/or straw purchasing crime?
      Yes

      Tools to Address Crime Guns

      Wyoming has not adopted this policy

      How it Works

      State leaders can take action to address gun trafficking and fill the void left in the absence of strict policy guidance and robust enforcement at the federal level.

      The Supply Side of Violence: How Gun Dealers Fuel Firearm Trafficking Report

      For decades, state and local law enforcement have relied on ATF as the nation’s lead agency in protecting communities from firearm trafficking and reducing gun violence. Even though ATF has been underfunded for decades,1Chelsea Parsons, Eugenio Weigend Vargas, and Rukmani Bhatia, “Rethinking ATF’s Budget to Prioritize Effective Gun Violence,” Center for American Progress, September 17, 2020, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/rethinking-atfs-budget-prioritize-effective-gun-violence-prevention/. it has consistently helped identify and dismantle gun trafficking networks. In recent years, ATF made significant progress in addressing gun traffickers and the dealers that supply them by instating a 2021 policy under which ATF would revoke licenses of gun dealers who willfully violate certain federal laws,2Biden-Harris White House, “Fact Sheet: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces Comprehensive Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gun Crime and Ensure Public Safety,” June 23, 2021, https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/23/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-comprehensive-strategy-to-prevent-and-respond-to-gun-crime-and-ensure-public-safety/; ATF, “Enhanced Regulatory Enforcement Policy,” accessed January 17, 2025, https://web.archive.org/web/20250117171012/https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/enhanced-regulatory-enforcement-policy. and implementing an intelligence-driven approach to gun dealer inspections and trafficking investigations. 

      However, in 2025, the mission of ATF was drastically undercut, with its resources shifted away from firearm trafficking and violent crime. Approximately 80 percent of the 2,500 ATF Special Agents who are specifically trained to investigate firearms trafficking have been reassigned to immigration enforcement duties,3Bob Ortega and Allison Gordon, “Gun Crime Cases Fall as Agents Shift to Immigration Crackdown,” CNN, October 15, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/us/trump-immigration-atf-gun-cases-invs. and the successful 2021 “zero tolerance” policy was also reversed.4ATF, “DOJ, ATF Repeal FFL Inspection Policy and Begin Review of Two Final Rules,” press release, April 7, 2025, https://www.atf.gov/news/press-releases/doj-atf-repeal-ffl-inspection-policy-and-begin-review-two-final-rules; ATF, “Enhanced Regulatory Enforcement Policy,” April 8, 2025, https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/enhanced-regulatory-enforcement-policy. 

      With the federal government pulling back from efforts to identify and interrupt trafficking activity and hold traffickers accountable,5ATF, “Protecting Second Amendment Rights,” May 21, 2025, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/protecting-second-amendment-rights. state and local leaders can help combat trafficking by utilizing a comprehensive strategy that includes: 

      • Using data to identify and interrupt trafficking: States and local law enforcement should collect data through comprehensive crime gun tracing and ballistic evidence to help identify gun trafficking activity and patterns.
      • Implementing robust regulatory oversight of gun dealers: States should enact laws requiring gun dealers to obtain a state license, implement security measures to prevent theft, send sale records to state officials for retention, and conduct annual background checks and training for dealers and their employees, as well as authorizing regular inspections of gun dealers by state or local officials and authorizing disciplinary action against dealers who violate the law.6Everytown for Gun Safety, “The Life-Saving Promise of State Gun Dealer Licensing.” April 17, 2025.
      • Enacting foundational gun safety laws that deter trafficking: States should enact laws requiring background checks on all gun sales, creating a waiting period before a gun sale can be completed, limiting the number of guns an individual can purchase per month, and allowing for the prosecution of straw purchasing and trafficking.

      By the numbers

      Myth

      Gun traffickers operate in the shadows, stealing guns from unsuspecting gun dealers and trafficking them abroad.

      Fact

      Gun dealers play a key role in gun trafficking. The vast majority of guns that end up trafficked begin as part of the inventory of a licensed gun dealer.1The only crime guns that do not originate from a gun dealer are privately made firearms (PMF), also known as “ghost guns.” According to ATF trace data, between 2017 and 2023, 92,702 PMFs were recovered by law enforcement and submitted to ATF for tracing. Comparatively, PMFs represent just 4 percent of all crime guns recovered and traced during this period. ATF, “National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFTCA), Volume IV: Protecting America From Trafficked Firearms—Part V: PMF Updates and New Analysis,” January 2025, 5, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-iv-part-v-%E2%80%93-pmf-updates-and-new-analysis/download. The top two trafficking methods are straw purchasing and unlicensed dealing, which both involve illegal purchases from a licensed gun dealer and account for more than half of all trafficked firearms.2ATF, “National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFTCA), Volume III: Firearms Trafficking Investigations—Part III: Firearm Trafficking Channels and Methods Used,” April 2024, 2, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-iii-part-iii/download. See Table FTC-02: “Total Number and Percentage of Cases by Firearm Trafficking Channel Types, 2017–2021.” When dealers fail to recognize or ignore the telltale signs of suspicious purchases that indicate trafficking, they become suppliers of trafficked guns—prioritizing profit over safety. In addition, most trafficked guns don’t travel far—nearly three-quarters of trafficked guns are recovered in crimes in the same state where they were purchased.3ATF, “National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFTCA), Volume II: Crime Guns—Part III: Crime Guns Recovered and Traced within the United States and Its Territories,” February 2023, 38, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-ii-part-iii-crime-guns-recovered-and-traced-us/download. See Figure GP-03.

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      Did you know?

      Trafficked firearms are big business. Everytown estimates that between 2017 and 2023, gun dealers earned approximately $695 million from sales of trafficked firearms.

      Nick Suplina, Marianna Mitchem, Chelsea Parsons, “The Supply Side of Violence: How Gun Dealers Fuel Firearm Trafficking,” Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, December 2, 2025, https://everytownresearch.org/report/how-gun-dealers-fuel-firearm-trafficking/.