- Guns being trafficked into or within Minnesota play a key role in violence inside the state. It is imperative that agencies with oversight of Minnesota’s 1,655 federally licensed gun dealers adopt strong safeguards.*
- The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is considerably understaffed and paces well behind the inspection rate goal that has been set.
- 15 states and Washington DC have worked to close this inspection gap and create licensing requirements of their own. States with these requirements have seen 64% lower rates of gun trafficking.**
- Minnesota could require gun dealers to obtain a license from the state to provide greater oversight of activities that would eliminate those acting negligently or maliciously. This would reduce gun trafficking within the state.***
- *State Federal Firearms Listings | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. (2023). Retrieved January 20, 2023, from Atf.gov website: https://www.atf.gov/firearms/listing-federal-firearms-licensees/state
Sources
**Dealer License Required. (2022, August 29). Everytown Research & Policy. https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/law/dealer-license-Required
Webster, D. W., Vernick, J. S., & Bulzacchelli, M. T. (2009). Effects of State-Level Firearm Seller Accountability Policies on Firearm Trafficking. Journal of Urban Health, 86(4), 525–537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-009-9351-x
***Model Laws for a Safer America: Seven Regulations to Promote Responsible Gun Ownership and Sales. (2011, September). Issuelab.org. https://search.issuelab.org/resource/model-laws-for-a-safer-america-seven-regulations-to-promote-responsible-gun-ownership-and-sales.html (Model Laws D. Model Law Regulating Firearms Dealers and Ammunition Sellers)
