Why Isn't There More Media Coverage of Where Crime Guns Were Sold?

[Nevilledog]

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Tweet text:

Shannon Watts
@shannonrwatts
“…reporters generally don’t write about where crime guns were sold because police either don’t have the information or don’t think it’s relevant to share. And the federal government argues that sharing the data with the public is a violation of the law.”

thetrace.org
Why Isn't There More Media Coverage of Where Crime Guns Were Sold?
A reader's question prompts an exploration into the hurdles reporters face when trying to obtain gun trace information.
10:42 AM · Feb 5, 2022

https://www.thetrace.org/2022/02/where-gun-store-purchased-mass-shooting-atf-traces/

Whenever there’s a shooting, there are certain questions reporters expect to answer. Where did it occur? Who are the victims? Who is responsible? These details help communities reorient in the aftermath of sudden traumas and in the aggregate can help cities decide how to deploy violence prevention resources.

But there’s one piece of information that’s often missing from coverage of shootings: Where the gun was sold. A reader asks:

“Why don’t media reports include information on where the gun was purchased? Clearly there is more to investigate about gun trafficking patterns. And consumers deserve information to be able to pick a responsible gun shop.”

Simply put, reporters generally don’t write about where crime guns were sold because they don’t know — that information is rarely made public. Police departments either don’t have the information themselves or don’t think it’s relevant enough to share with reporters. And the federal government argues that sharing such data with the public is a violation of the law.

*snip*

[Scrivener7]

1. GREAT idea!!!

[RockRaven]

2. Repukes/cons are trolls by nature. If you publish where guns used in crimes were sold,

they will go out of their way to buy guns from those gun sellers just to "own the libs"