Bloomberg Lawsuit May Jeopardize
Ongoing Criminal Investigations
Firearms Industry
Trade Association Asks Why
Mayor Rebuffed Anti-Straw Purchasing Program
NEWTOWN, Conn.—
Following today’s announcement by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
of a federal lawsuit against a group of out-of-state firearms dealers
for alleged improper sales to private investigators, the National
Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) renewed the firearm industry’s
longstanding commitment to cooperating with law enforcement in their
efforts to aggressively enforce our nation’s firearms laws but
questioned the appropriateness of the mayor’s actions and his refusal to
work with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF) and NSSF in their anti-straw purchasing crime
prevention and public awareness program called
Don’t Lie for the Other Guy.
Just last month, Bloomberg rebuffed
a request by NSSF to participate in the mayor’s “gun summit” on
illegal firearms to educate the mayors attending the summit about the
ATF – NSSF partnership program, Don’t Lie for the Other Guy, which helps
ATF to educate firearms retailers on how to recognize and stop illegal
purchases while at the same time warning the public through public
service announcements that it is a serious crime to buy a gun for some
one who can’t – what’s known as an illegal straw purchase. Also
conspicuously absent from the mayor’s summit was ATF.
Ironically, in
announcing his lawsuit today Bloomberg showed a video clip of a firearms
dealer who refused to allow one of the city’s private investigators to
illegally purchase a firearm. Present in the background of the store is
a Don’t Lie for the Other Guy point-of-purchase sign that warns would-be
buyer that buying a gun for someone who can’t is a serious crime.
“It is inexcusable for
Mayor Bloomberg to express concern about illegal straw purchasing – a
concern our industry shares – but to then ignore the Don’t Lie for the
Other Guy program and then – perhaps unknowingly – feature it so
prominently during his press conference announcing the lawsuit,”
commented Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel
for NSSF.
Keane pointed out that
federally licensed firearms dealers play an important role in aiding law
enforcement by carefully following the law. Corrupt dealers, however,
should pay a penalty for illegally selling firearms. “If the dealers
named broke the law they should be prosecuted,” said Keane. He noted
that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, passed last year,
offers no protection to a corrupt dealer who breaks the law in selling a
firearm. He added, however, that the city’s private investigators in
attempting or in fact illegally purchasing firearms through straw
purchases raises serious questions about whether the private
investigators themselves committed a crime. “We believe this matter
warrants an investigation by the appropriate federal and state law
enforcement authorities,” said Keane.
More importantly, the mayor’s actions could
well have jeopardized ongoing criminal law enforcement investigations.
“This case demonstrates precisely the threat posed to law enforcement by
releasing trace data to the public,” said Keane. “Its ill-considered use
once released cannot be controlled. If one of these dealers was in fact
under investigations – something only ATF would know – the mayor’s
actions may have blown the investigation and could lead to the
destruction of evidence and harm to undercover agents and witnesses.”
Many of these same
concerns were expressed by Bloomberg’s own
police commissioner in a
letter urging ATF to resist disclosure of trace data to the city of
Chicago for use in a similar civil lawsuit.
ATF is the appropriate law enforcement
agency to investigate and prosecute illegal firearms trafficking. In
fact, a 2005 ATF report cites a 14 percent increase in the number of
convictions for illegal gun trafficking from the previous year. From
2000-2005, the number of defendants referred to prosecution was up 170
percent. -30-
|
