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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGarland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities
WASHINGTON (AP) The Justice Department is launching an effort in five cities in the U.S. to reduce spiking gun violence by addressing illegal trafficking and prosecuting offenses that help put guns in the hands of criminals.
Attorney General Merrick Garland will launch the gun trafficking strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The effort will include stepped-up enforcement in so-called supply areas cities and states where its easier to obtain firearms that are later trafficked into other cities with more restrictive gun laws.
Besides prioritizing gun crimes, the strike forces will embrace intelligence sharing and prosecutions across jurisdictions, Justice Department officials said. Authorities have also embedded federal agents in homicide units of police departments across the U.S., have been deploying additional crime analysts and are conducting fugitive sweeps to arrest people who have outstanding state and federal warrants for violent crimes.
Violent crimes, particularly homicides and shootings, are up in many cities around the country, and the Biden administration has sought to aid communities hamstrung by violence. But the initiative launched this week differs from other recent federal efforts to address violence, because it is not sending agents or prosecutors into cities with crime spikes. Justice officials say the strike forces are targeted prosecutions meant to be a longer-term effort to combat gun trafficking.
*snip*
https://apnews.com/article/health-government-and-politics-shootings-coronavirus-pandemic-gun-politics-fc16e2a1a4571be552d82def7bd5e781
mucifer
(23,374 posts)brewens
(13,400 posts)They won't like where it leads. It's not inner city gang members making all the money off the gun trafficking, that's safe to assume.
madville
(7,397 posts)With Chicago for example, the gangs will usually recruit women in neighboring Indiana or Wisconsin to make straw purchases for them, they basically have them buy multiple firearms, mostly handguns, at a time and then transport them back to Chicago to sell and use. As long as the straw purchaser is not a prohibited person, meets residency requirements and passes a federal background check then the licensed dealer is covered legally.
The federal strike forces will likely have licensed dealers notify them immediately when a suspicious purchase is made and they will follow the trail from there, get warrants, etc.
brewens
(13,400 posts)pretty cute about preserving their deniability. Same with their suppliers. It might be somewhat like with opioids. They might find gun dealers with volumes in sales that can't be explained. A couple of pharmacies were like that. One I saw in a small Appalachian town would have had to have had everyone in town filling an opioid prescription every day. Whoever shipped those orders to that place had to see it stunk to high heaven.
Wicked Blue
(5,767 posts)This is desperately needed.
The Mouth
(3,123 posts)I like guns, both for target shooting and for (if need be) putting holes in anyone who would attempt to deprive me of life, liberty, or property.
But there are people who shouldn't have them, for various reasons. Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and those with issues of psychological health is exactly the kind of 'Gun Control' this 'gun humper' can support.
certainot
(9,090 posts)when obama was running rw media pushed a racist connection between him and chicago crime and at the time there were witnesses reporting free guns given out from the back of cars/suvs
former9thward
(31,805 posts)Is there a link to such a story?
certainot
(9,090 posts)he'd seen or heard about it happening, can't remember which.
it fits perfectly with years of team limbaugh attacking obama and democrats and african americans with chicago as reference point (because obama). the same is happening now - they're lying that democrats want to defund the police and look at crime skyrocketing!!!! why not sell a few trunkloads of very cheap guns on the street. giving them away would more likely get noticed but for a few bucks? why not. "why so cheap?" the guy asks. "well, they have slightly bent barrels and didn't pass quality control...."
MarineCombatEngineer
(12,092 posts)That's a really compelling case.
Why didn't he take his accusation to the proper authorities?
Why wasn't this widely reported?
Not saying it didn't happen, but the "evidence" is really lacking here.
certainot
(9,090 posts)was, maybe after another kid got shot. and i wouldn't put it past republicans, especially when they have the radio stations - limbaugh referenced the 'chicago crime' regularly it against obama - how is he going to clean up america if he can't even clean up chicago type dumbassery.
MarineCombatEngineer
(12,092 posts)but you're right, i wouldn't put anything past the repukes.
The Mouth
(3,123 posts)maker supposedly did to popularize their product: since they couldn't actually give away samples, they just rented a van, filled it with product, and parked it where it would be broken into.
One fell swoop, dozens of guns straight into the underworld, no straw buyers, no trace. Use confiscated guns or 'ghost' guns.
certainot
(9,090 posts)ancianita
(35,814 posts)Millions of private gun buys or giveaways, without background checks, go on across this country.
The biggest trafficking states are Texas, Florida, Virginia and Nevada. Those states also have the highest per capita mass shootings.
News can't research everything, especially gun trafficking. Once people read this book they'll see why gun trafficking and mass shootings are nation destabilizers across the Americas, and the U.S. law enforcement is out to prevent that from happening.
LiberatedUSA
(1,666 posts)Hangingon
(3,071 posts)It is about time we looked at this. It may dispel the idea that every gun owner is the cause of gun mayhem
Old Crank
(3,377 posts)Bann the merchants for life. Take away gun privileges for anyone swept up in the net. Gun crimes require total ban for having or using a gun for life.
Aristus
(66,096 posts)I understand they're really against traveling from one place to another without the proper documentation...
kimbutgar
(20,882 posts)70sEraVet
(3,430 posts)are supplying many of the guns used by criminals. Those unlicensed dealers are selling weapons to anyone who pays, even when they know that its a 'straw purchase'.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2009/10/mayor_bloomberg_gun_shows_ille.html