Unlicensed dealers and black market guns

The report ordered by Attorney General Merrick Garland is the first in-depth firearm tracking analysis in 20 years

(Image credit: David McNew / Getty Images)

published 5 April 2024

What happened

Unlicensed gun dealers sold at least 68,388 firearms into the black market between 2017 and 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said Thursday. Those guns represent 54% of illegally trafficked firearms recovered in that period. Another 40% involved illegal "straw purchases" for someone unable to pass a federal background check.

Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered the first gun trafficking analysis in more than 20 years to better understand the nation's firearms market. The Biden administration will likely "use the new data to muster support for regulations closing a loophole that has allowed kitchen-table dealers, gun-show vendors and online sellers to avoid background checks required of 80,000 federally licensed dealers," The New York Times said. The proposed rule has not been finalized yet.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.