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Number of Gun Dealers Reduced by Nearly 75%;

Josey1Josey1 Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
edited September 2002 in General Discussion
Number of Gun Dealers Reduced by Nearly 75%;
Dramatic Drops Seen in All 50 States

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Violence Policy Center (VPC)
today released a new study revealing that the number of gun dealers has
dropped by more than 181,000 since 1994. The study found that the number of
holders of Type 1 Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) plummeted 74 percent from
245,628 in January 1994 to 63,881 in April 2002 -- a decrease of 181,747.
(The Type 1 FFL is the basic federal license required to sell guns in
America.)
Virginia posted the tenth largest drop in the number of gun dealers of any
state in the nation. The number of Type 1 FFLs in the state fell by 5,207; a
drop of 75 percent -- from 6,942 in January 1994 to 1,735 in April 2002.
The top five states reporting the largest drops in the number of gun
dealers are: California (16,905, a drop of 84 percent), Texas (13,199, a drop
of 73 percent), Michigan (9,060, a drop of 75 percent), Pennsylvania (8,602, a
drop of 73 percent), and Florida (8,059, a drop of 81 percent).
The decrease is the result of new licensing and renewal criteria contained
in 1993's Brady Law and 1994's federal crime bill, enhanced ATF enforcement,
and state and local initiatives. All of these changes were designed to reduce
the number of "kitchen-table" gun dealers -- dealers who operate out of their
homes often in violation of state and local law -- and limit licensing to
legitimate gun dealers.
VPC Policy Analyst Marty Langley states, "Kitchen-table dealers are
notorious for supplying guns to gangs, drug dealers, and street criminals.
The sharp drop in gun dealers is one of the most important-- and little
noticed -- victories in the effort to reduce firearms violence in America."
The new VPC analysis comes nearly 10 years after the organization released
its December 1992 study More Gun Dealers Than Gas Stations. The study was the
first to focus national attention on abuses by FFL holders and revealed that
at the time of its release the number of Americans who possessed the Type 1
FFL outnumbered gas stations 245,000 to 210,000.

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational
organization working to stop gun death and injury in America. The study is
available at the VPC's website http://www.vpc.org .
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-25-2002/0001806769&EDATE=

"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

Comments

  • NighthawkNighthawk Member Posts: 12,022 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thats sad,I remember when there were Home and Auto and several Independant Gun shops right here in a 10 square mile radious.Now not counting W mart there are only three,and one guy who has an FFL who will order for 10% above cost?

    Rugster


    Toujours Pret
  • pikeal1pikeal1 Member Posts: 2,707
    edited November -1
    yeah, i remember about ten years ago there were a bunch of gun shops around my area. I used to like walking in there with my dad and just being in awe at the site of all the long guns lining the walls of the shop.

    its sad that these places are gone.
  • ccasey612ccasey612 Member Posts: 901 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    It is a shame.

    If you will blame gun makers for every shooting then blame car maker for every car accident.
  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Crap. This is a direct result of a hardline policy by the BATF to hound licensees and report them to state tax boards, to put small and non-stocking dealers out of business. The sad part is, larger dealers really don't mind the absence of competition. The idea that a significant percentage of these licensees were sources of crime guns is baloney, because any such dealer would quickly be put out of business once tracked.

    - Life NRA Member
    "If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
  • nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,085 ******
    edited November -1
    I remember that time well. My good friend David Sandlin lost his FFL and had to get a C&R over it.

    I kept mine, mostly because I am in an unincorporated area with no zoning restrictions.

    Before I could renew though, I spent about 90 minutes on the phone with a BATF examiner basically doing an audit of my business for the past 12 months.

    I loved the hypocritical public stance of the BATF over the new restrictions: "We are trying to do away with the kitchen table dealers, though they haven't been a problem."




    SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net
  • DancesWithSheepDancesWithSheep Member Posts: 12,938 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:
    I loved the hypocritical public stance of the BATF over the new restrictions: "We are trying to do away with the kitchen table dealers, though they haven't been a problem."


    If you have a 75% reduction in FFL dealers but no reduction in the number of personnel policing them, just what is the BATF doing with all that extra time?

    Often the mind believes it is thinking, when it is only passing from one metaphor to the next.
  • interstatepawnllcinterstatepawnllc Member Posts: 9,390
    edited November -1
    Wow, I might actually sell a few firearms with a small profit now.

    If your gonna be stupid you better be tough !!
  • DancesWithSheepDancesWithSheep Member Posts: 12,938 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:
    Wow, I might actually sell a few firearms with a small profit now.


    I think there's a whole lot more at issue--and at stake--than your personal profit margin.




    Often the mind believes it is thinking, when it is only passing from one metaphor to the next.
  • HighballHighball Member Posts: 15,755
    edited November -1
    No, you all got it wrong...the big dealers spent a lot of money to get that law passed...and if you don't believe me,pick up any issue of their rag for the last 20 years and read their whinneing about 'kitchen table dealers'...money is all they care about..freedom means not one thing to them.
    But also remember,the nra is the biggest gun control organization in the world.....

    God,Guts,& GunsHave we lost all 3 ??
  • BlueTicBlueTic Member Posts: 4,072
    edited November -1
    Yeah - what Highball said!!!!!!!


    IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY RIGHTS - GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY (this includes politicians)
  • 96harley96harley Member Posts: 3,992 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I kept mine. No zoning here per se but a commissioner has to okay it. If one of the three commissioners gets miffed at me I could be in trouble. I don't play well with the politicians here. I'm not PC enough and the donkeys nor the elephants have really done me any favors. My ace in the hole is the fact that even though I am not a politician I have lots of friends who vote as well as myself. I guess I'm lucky in the fact that God has blessed me with lots of voting friends who feel the same way I do and they express their feelings to me knowing I will voice it to politicians one way or the other.
  • interstatepawnllcinterstatepawnllc Member Posts: 9,390
    edited November -1
    I dont think many of you could see sarcasm if it came up and cracked you on your noggin!

    If your gonna be stupid you better be tough !!
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