The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STOLEN FIREARMS, ARMING THE ENEMY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S1462 on Jan. 23, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STOLEN FIREARMS, ARMING THE ENEMY
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last month Americans for Gun Safety, an organization which seeks to educate Americans on existing gun laws and new policy options for reducing access to guns by criminals and children, released a report entitled Stolen Firearms, Arming the Enemy. This report examines the effect of stolen guns on communities. According to the report, nearly 1.7 million firearms have been reported stolen since 1993. These stolen guns are frequently used later in committing crimes and fuel the black market for guns. Most of the estimated 170,000 guns stolen each year are never recovered.
The accessibility of stolen firearms was earlier highlighted by a 1997 Department of Justice survey of 33,731 state prison inmates. The survey found that nearly 10 percent of the inmates used a stolen firearm to commit the crime that put them in prison.
The Americans for Gun Safety report points to several factors that contribute to a state's firearm theft rate, such as gun ownership rates, overall crime rates, and safe storage laws. The report notes that the eighteen states with safe storage laws had firearm theft rates nearly 30 percent below that of States without safe storage gun laws. Additionally, over the last 10-year period, theft rates declined by at least 47 percent in States with safe storage laws compared to 30 percent in States without such laws.
As the Americans for Gun Safety report illustrates, safe storage laws can help prevent criminals from gaining access to firearms. Federal safe storage laws aimed at protecting children may have the added benefit of preventing gun theft. Last Congress, I cosponsored Senator Durbin's Children's Firearm Access Prevention Act. Under this bill, adults who fail to lock up loaded firearms or unloaded firearms with ammunition can be held liable if a weapon is taken by a child and used to kill or injure him or herself or another person. The bill also increases the penalties for selling a gun to a juvenile and creates a gun safety education program that includes parent-teacher organizations, local law enforcement and community organizations. This bill is similar to legislation President Bush signed into law as Governor of Texas. I believe this is a simple common sense step we can take to reduce gun violence and gun-related crime. I support this bill and I hope the Senate will act on it during this Congress.
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