CONGRESSMAN JOE MORELLE CALLS ON ATF TO ADDRESS SURGE IN GUN SHOP THEFTS CAUSING FLOW OF DANGEROUS WEAPONS ONTO STREETS

(Washington, DC) – Today, Congressman Joe Morelle released a letter (attached) calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to address growing instances of gun store burglaries that have caused dangerous weapons to flow onto the black market and into the hands of criminals.

This week, it was reported that there were more than 90 attempted or successful burglaries of gun stores in the last week of May and first week of June along, resulting in the theft of more than 1,000 firearms. In Monroe County, Chinappi's Firearms and Supplies gun shop has been burglarized seven times since 2007 alone, and in 2018 was burglarized twice in the span of one week. More than 60 guns still remain missing, posing a significant public safety threat.

"Unfortunately, the federal government fails to treat the security of gun stores with the level of seriousness expected," writes Rep. Morelle in the letter. "Federal Firearms Licensees deal in deadly weapons, yet they are subject to relatively little federal oversight. There are also no federal regulations requiring them to utilize any security measures, such as securing their inventory or running background checks on employees. Banks, in contrast, are required to adopt appropriate security measures in order to be eligible for federal deposit insurance."

Last year, Rep. Morelle introduced the Gun Theft Prevention Act, which would require gun shops to fulfill minimum security requirements like locked cabinets, video surveillance, and site hardening. This legislation would also require ATF to inspect all gun dealers every three years, as well as perform annual inspections of "high risk" dealers that have a history of firearms they have sold or lost traced to crime.

The full letter to ATF is below.

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