Recently, the federal government released data showing that gun stores selling firearms used in crimes have doubled in the past four years. Texas is one of the states with most of these stores, with data revealing connections between certain gun stores and firearms used in crimes, both within the United States and across the border into Mexico.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) released a report identifying gun stores linked to a high number of “crime gun traces.” Under this program, known as the “Demand Letter 2” notice, gun stores that had 25 or more firearms traced to crimes within three years of their original sale receive extra scrutiny. However, this notice doesn’t necessarily mean the dealer engaged in illegal activity. Rather, it aims to identify and add oversight to gun sellers whose firearms have ended up in the hands of criminals. Many of these guns end up in Mexico.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Texas is the nation’s leading supplier of illicit guns to Mexico’s cartels. In total, 43% of the firearms seized by Mexican authorities are traced back to Texas.
For example, WEG’s Guns in Farmers Branch received a notice for an incident involving a .50-caliber rifle purchased at WEG’s Guns with over $8,600 in cash, which was later found by Mexican authorities in Matamoros. The buyer, who pleaded guilty to straw purchasing—a process in which someone legally buys a gun with the intent to pass it on to another person—received a sentence of time served.
While receiving a “Demand Letter 2” doesn’t indicate guilt, the link between gun stores and crime guns often puts these dealers under intense scrutiny. Major chains like Range USA, which has several stores across Texas, have also been linked to gun sales leading to criminal activity. Federal court records show that at least two Range USA stores sold firearms that ended up being trafficked across the border into Mexico.
Some gun rights activists have said the ATFs release of information is an act of “name and shame.”
“This blatant disregard for the law shows that the ATF is more interested in appeasing gun control activists than upholding their legal responsibilities,” Chris McNutt, president of Texas Gun Rights, said in a statement. “They’re not protecting law-abiding gun owners; they’re targeting them.”
However, some argue the data, which has regularly been made public more than 20 years ago, has helped make gun dealers and makers accountable for their omissions.
“The crime gun market is a significant portion of industry revenue,” Jonathan Lowy, a lawyer for the gun control group, Brady: United Against Gun Violence, said.
Lowy is also co-counsel for the Mexican government in a federal lawsuit against five Arizona gun dealers. Mexico argues these dealers knowingly participate in illegal gun trafficking.
“Most gun dealers are law abiding, responsible business people who take great care to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands,” Lowy said. “A small percentage turn a blind eye to glaring red flags that they’re selling to a gun trafficker.”
