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“PROSECUTING GUN-RELATED CRIMES” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S7874-S7875 on June 13, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PROSECUTING GUN-RELATED CRIMES
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last month I spoke about a report released by Americans for Gun Safety Foundation entitled, ``The Enforcement Gap: Federal Gun Laws Ignored,'' analyzing the Justice Department's commitment to enforcing and prosecuting gun laws. The report examines prosecution data acquired from the Justice Department under the Freedom of Information Act for fiscal years 2000 through 2002. The AGS study reveals a significant gap between the number of federal gun crimes committed and the number of Federal prosecutions initiated.
In response to this report, Representative John Dingell, the Dean of the Michigan delegation in the House, sent a letter to Attorney General Ashcroft asking ``how the Justice Department plans to improve its abysmal record of enforcement of all of the major federal firearms statutes.'' He goes on to say, ``by not enforcing existing federal firearm laws, we are not only allowing criminals to arm themselves, we are eliminating any deterrent effect these laws may have.''
Justice Department officials regularly point to a 38 percent increase in prosecutions of gun crimes since 2001 as evidence of their success. However, according to the AGS report, at the end of fiscal year 2002, federal prosecutors filed 197 cases for gun trafficking, despite 100,000 guns showing signs of trafficking. Only 27 cases were filed against corrupt gun dealers, even though AGS reports that gun dealers are the leading source of firearms recovered in gun trafficking operations. Across the country, only seven cases for illegally selling a gun to a minor were filed, even though more than 30,000 gun crimes were committed by youths age 17 or under. Only 202 cases were filed for possessing or selling a stolen firearm, despite nearly 140,000 reported gun thefts that year in which the make, model and serial number of a stolen gun was reported to police. And, a mere 98 cases for possessing or selling a firearm with an obliterated serial number were prosecuted, despite thousands of these guns being recovered in cities across the country each year.
I believe vigorous and fair enforcement of our gun safety laws is a critical step toward reducing gun violence. I commend Congressman Dingell questioning the Justice Department about the enforcement gap, and I hope the Justice Department will step up its efforts to prosecute not only people who commit gun crimes but those corrupt or negligent dealers who put guns in criminal hands.
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