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Gun-control group says Ohio is 'iron pipeline'
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Gun-control group says Ohio is 'iron pipeline'
08/26/03
John F. Hagan
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ohio ranks seventh in the country in exporting guns to other states that end up in the hands of criminals, prompting a firearms safety group to call Ohio a "gun-runners' paradise."
And Ohio ranked No. 1 in the Midwest as the source of the most guns bought in one state and recovered in crimes committed in another state in 2001, according to a report by Americans for Gun Safety, based on data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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Ohio was the original home of 1,697 guns recovered in crimes committed in other states, seventh most in the nation for 2001, according to the recent report.
The group says a combination of weak gun laws and lax prosecution has created what it calls an "iron pipeline" of guns from Ohio to other states.
"There seems to be no enforcement strategy in Ohio and in many states to investigate and crack down on the illegal market in guns," said Jim Kessler, the group's policy and research director. Federal prosecutors in Ohio filed only 10 gun trafficking cases between fiscal years 2000 and 2002, and three cases against corrupt licensed gun dealers, the report shows.
The nonprofit group wants tougher gun law enforcement and promotes gun safety.
Federal prosecutors in Cleveland referred questions about the report's conclusions to representatives of the ATF, who could not be reached.
Kessler cited the so-called, "gun show loophole," which allows private gun sales without background checks. Private gun dealers often set up at gun shows. Americans for Gun Safety advocates want to close those loopholes with federal laws.
Joe Waldron, executive director of Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said guns will naturally flow out of states with relaxed gun laws to states with more restrictive laws. But, he said, only a small percentage of felons acquire their weapons at gun shows and that most illegal guns are obtained by qualified buyers who give them to their friends or relatives who are not permitted to buy guns.
Making Ohio laws more restrictive is not the answer, he said.
According to the report, the top 10 crime gun export states in 2001 were: Virginia, Georgia, California, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina and Alabama.
Kessler said guns bought at shows for $150 in Ohio will sell for $600 on the streets in Detroit, where they are difficult to obtain because of tougher laws.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jhagan@plaind.com, 216-999-4169
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1061890661254900.xml
"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<P>
08/26/03
John F. Hagan
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ohio ranks seventh in the country in exporting guns to other states that end up in the hands of criminals, prompting a firearms safety group to call Ohio a "gun-runners' paradise."
And Ohio ranked No. 1 in the Midwest as the source of the most guns bought in one state and recovered in crimes committed in another state in 2001, according to a report by Americans for Gun Safety, based on data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Visit New Orleans
Ohio was the original home of 1,697 guns recovered in crimes committed in other states, seventh most in the nation for 2001, according to the recent report.
The group says a combination of weak gun laws and lax prosecution has created what it calls an "iron pipeline" of guns from Ohio to other states.
"There seems to be no enforcement strategy in Ohio and in many states to investigate and crack down on the illegal market in guns," said Jim Kessler, the group's policy and research director. Federal prosecutors in Ohio filed only 10 gun trafficking cases between fiscal years 2000 and 2002, and three cases against corrupt licensed gun dealers, the report shows.
The nonprofit group wants tougher gun law enforcement and promotes gun safety.
Federal prosecutors in Cleveland referred questions about the report's conclusions to representatives of the ATF, who could not be reached.
Kessler cited the so-called, "gun show loophole," which allows private gun sales without background checks. Private gun dealers often set up at gun shows. Americans for Gun Safety advocates want to close those loopholes with federal laws.
Joe Waldron, executive director of Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said guns will naturally flow out of states with relaxed gun laws to states with more restrictive laws. But, he said, only a small percentage of felons acquire their weapons at gun shows and that most illegal guns are obtained by qualified buyers who give them to their friends or relatives who are not permitted to buy guns.
Making Ohio laws more restrictive is not the answer, he said.
According to the report, the top 10 crime gun export states in 2001 were: Virginia, Georgia, California, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina and Alabama.
Kessler said guns bought at shows for $150 in Ohio will sell for $600 on the streets in Detroit, where they are difficult to obtain because of tougher laws.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jhagan@plaind.com, 216-999-4169
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1061890661254900.xml
"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<P>
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