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Sep 18 - Where do Chicago guns come from? | REPORT
Gun-rights supporters often point to Chicago's endemic violence as evidence that gun control doesn't work. But the Trace's investigation suggests the real problem is the lax gun laws everywhere else.
Citing Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives data — which shows that approximately 60% of guns used in crimes across Illinois came from out of state — the Trace built an infographic demonstrating just how many guns flow into the city from states with less restrictive gun laws.
From 2010 to 2014, of the traceable guns used in Illinois crimes which originated from out of state, most came from Indiana (3,269), Mississippi (1,002) and Wisconsin (898).
Most of the firearms used in crime originated from within Illinois. But such widespread interstate firearm trafficking is why "the chief of the ATF's violent crime and intelligence division has compared trafficked guns to c0ckroaches in the apartment complex," writes the Trace. "If you aggressively treat the problem in one place, while leaving it unchecked elsewhere, the infestations will continue."
"I think that it's more likely that if Chicago did not have tough gun laws, they would have higher rates of gun violence than they do have," Duke University public policy researcher and University of Chicago Crime Lab gun expert Philip Cook told Bloomberg. He told the site that of the 7,000-plus guns he had traced in his work, "the great majority came from the people who were members of gangs ... part of the reason is those organizations are ski1led at accessing guns."
Illinois "does not license or regulate gun dealers, require gun registration, limit the number of guns that can be sold at one time, or require background checks on private sales that aren't conducted at gun shows," writes Zack Beauchamp for ThinkProgress. As a result, it is relatively easy to circulate guns that originate outside Illinois throughout the state when they arrive.
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and all this time we were told that it was Chicago's heavy gun restrictions that were fueling this criminal behavior. I suppose no one anticipated gang members essentially gaming the system and using laxed laws to their advantage...
Last edited by Erma Gerd; 09-18-2017 at 07:57 AM..
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