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"It's a myth that most of Philly's illegal guns are driven up from the South"
It's a myth that most of Philly's illegal guns are driven up from the South and sold out of car trunks along with cellphones and knock-off purses and sunglasses. Of the 9,591 firearms that ATF recovered and traced in Pennsylvania in 2011, 53 percent were homegrown, first purchased legally in the Keystone State.
Federal, state and local authorities have successfully cracked down on straw purchasers. "Straws" - as they are called - are gun buyers who have no criminal record. Felons, who can't buy guns legally, hire straws to do it for them. Frequently, the straw then reports the gun stolen to avoid criminal responsibility when it's used in a crime.
Philadelphia's Gun Violence Task Force has arrested 822 people for straw purchasing or other gun-trafficking offenses since its 2006 inception. At least 342 of them have been convicted. But because there are so many guns on Philly's streets, criminals don't need straw purchasers.
Street thugs also know that even if a crime gun is recovered, tracing it can be challenging - if not impossible. On average, 11 years pass from when a weapon is legally purchased to when police recover it after a crime. By then, countless people could have owned the gun.
Federal, state and local authorities have successfully cracked down on straw purchasers. "Straws" - as they are called - are gun buyers who have no criminal record. Felons, who can't buy guns legally, hire straws to do it for them. Frequently, the straw then reports the gun stolen to avoid criminal responsibility when it's used in a crime.
Philadelphia's Gun Violence Task Force has arrested 822 people for straw purchasing or other gun-trafficking offenses since its 2006 inception. At least 342 of them have been convicted. But because there are so many guns on Philly's streets, criminals don't need straw purchasers.
Street thugs also know that even if a crime gun is recovered, tracing it can be challenging - if not impossible. On average, 11 years pass from when a weapon is legally purchased to when police recover it after a crime. By then, countless people could have owned the gun.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130415_A_city_awash_in_guns.html
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