Gun Owners of Vermont: Firearm Trafficking
GoVT: Defending Vermonters' Constitutional Firearms Rights Since 1997!
5/26/2021: After repeated ATF warnings, gun dealers can count on the agency to back off; sometimes firearms flow to criminals	After repeated ATF warnings, gun dealers can count on the agency to back off; sometimes firearms flow to criminals
United States Sentencing Commission: "FIREARMS PRIMER:" I. Relevant Statutes A. Substantive Offenses i. Firearms Transfer Offenses: 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(a)(6) (“straw purchase”), 922(d) (“prohibited person”), and 924(a)(1)(A) (“false statement in a record”)	United States Sentencing Commission: "FIREARMS PRIMER:"
3/20/2018: John Jay College Researchers Develop First of its Kind School Shootings Database How the anti-gunners stack the data against the truth. Combine everything that has a gun involved into one place.	How the anti-gunners stack the data against the truth.
2/13/18: BFP "Report: 25 convictions for illegal gun possession in VT"	"Report: 25 convictions for illegal gun possession in VT"
1/9/18: Boston "Illegal U-turn leads to gun arrest in Boston" STOLEN Vermont gun found during traffic stop in Massachusetts.	"Illegal U-turn leads to gun arrest in Boston"
1/54/18: WND "Dems learn it's harder to buy guns illegally online than they thought"	"Dems learn it's harder to buy guns illegally online than they thought"
10/10/17: Boston Herald "Cops take aim at gun trafficking in New England - Set sights on tracking database"	"Cops take aim at gun trafficking in New England - Set sights on tracking database"
9/13/17: The Daily Gazette (New York) 'Career criminal' gets 15 years in gun sale STOLEN Vermont gun recovered in FBI Bust in New York.	'Career criminal' gets 15 years in gun sale
8/4/17 Times Argus "Local 4-time felon charged with selling guns"	"Local 4-time felon charged with selling guns"
ATF Statement on Straw Purchasing: "Don't Lie for the Other Guy"	"Don't Lie for the Other Guy"
5/10/17: Chicago Tribune " Commentary: The gauzy misdirection and untrue smears of an anti-gun-rights activist " A good article on how the anti-gunners LIE about firearm traces! "Harmon's implication is that these shops sell guns to criminals, but that's not what a trace identifies, and he should know it. Law enforcement may trace a gun because it was lost, stolen, recovered by police in a benign setting or recovered at a crime scene. The only thing a trace tells investigators is where a gun was first legally purchased. He also doesn't explain that the average time from first sale to trace is nine years, or that the overwhelming majority of Chicago's crime guns are either stolen or bought on the black market. That's because those revelations won't support his campaign to drive Illinois gun stores out of business."	" Commentary: The gauzy misdirection and untrue smears of an anti-gun-rights activist "
5/9/17: The Eagle Times "State police investigate firearms heist in Bellows Falls" How the "bad guys" get their "Vermont guns." T H E F T !	"State police investigate firearms heist in Bellows Falls"
2/13/17: FOX 25 'Tracking the gun used to kill Sean Collier" Here is a different article/video on how the ATF traces firearms through the National Tracing Center. Normal traces take about 5 days. The gun used by the Boston bombers with its serial number oblitered was STILL TRACED back to the original owner!	Tracking the gun used to kill Sean Collier"
11/30/16: Bearing Arms "ATF Predicts 500 Gun Store Robberies During 2016" See, all those "crime guns" being "trafficked" into gun free states like New York and Massachusetts are not "straw purchased," but STOLEN! Go look at the ATF numbers of trafficked guns and most will be accounted for by STOLEN guns.	"ATF Predicts 500 Gun Store Robberies During 2016"
10/30/2016: Portland Press Herald "How Maine became a source of ‘crime guns’ in other states" "Question 3: Initiative's advocates say a lack of background checks on private sales fuels illicit trafficking." Here is the list of what the anti-gunners say why UBCs are needed. See if you can figure out where the holes in their logic are.	"How Maine became a source of ‘crime guns’ in other states"
"Where New York's crime guns come from" The New York Attorney General calculates gun trafficking and tries to blame every other state that has more firearm freedoms for NY crime.	"Where New York's crime guns come from"
9/13/2016: Waking Times "Gang Members Implicate U.S. Gov’t in Dumping Crates of Guns in Chicago"	"Gang Members Implicate U.S. Gov’t in Dumping Crates of Guns in Chicago"
"Obama Advocates for UN Gun Treaty Ratification" Here we go again with the United Nations international gun registry and disarmament program!	"Obama Advocates for UN Gun Treaty Ratification"
7/25/16: UPMC/University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences "Vast Majority of Guns Recovered by Police Not Carried by Legal Owners, Pitt Public Health Analysis Reveals"	"Vast Majority of Guns Recovered by Police Not Carried by Legal Owners, Pitt Public Health Analysis Reveals"
6/2/2016: Michael Bloomberg's THE TRACE "Criminals Are Heading to Gun-Friendly Vermont to Trade Heroin for Firearms The opioid addiction crisis is the latest headache for New England officials trying to stop interstate gun trafficking." Funny how this article pops right up on Sue Minter's page immediately after it went to print! Almost as if she KNEW it was coming! Oh, and LOOK! Our friend Mayor Weinberger is prominently quoted in this piece... No coincidence here...	"Criminals Are Heading to Gun-Friendly Vermont to Trade Heroin for Firearms The opioid addiction crisis is the latest headache for New England officials trying to stop interstate gun trafficking."
5/10/2016: WPTZ "Gun dealers seek access to stolen-gun database" ATF spokesperson says database access it's unlikely	"Gun dealers seek access to stolen-gun database"
4/7/2016: Reason.com "Clinton Blames New York Gun Violence on Vermont" "Trying to impugn Bernie Sanders, she falsely claims his state provides a big share of crime guns in hers."	"Clinton Blames New York Gun Violence on Vermont"
4/7/2016: Veterans for Bernie "Sorry Hillary, 4 of 5 Years More New York Guns Traced to Vermont than Vice Versa"	"Sorry Hillary, 4 of 5 Years More New York Guns Traced to Vermont than Vice Versa"
4/5/2016: WCAX "Clinton claims NY criminals get guns from Vt." Governor Shumlin slaps Hillary Clinton after she blames New York's "gun problem" on Vermont!	"Clinton claims NY criminals get guns from Vt."
3/14/2016: WPTZ "Burlington police react to Bronx gang bust: Guns trafficked from New England to New York City in drug pipeline, investigators say" Here is the latest "news" in Vermont, that drug dealers in New York are bringing drugs to NEW HAMPSHIRE…	"Burlington police react to Bronx gang bust: Guns trafficked from New England to New York City in drug pipeline, investigators say"
3/4/2016: Syracuse.com "The worst community gun: Syracuse gang used 1 Glock 37 times to wound 9, kill 1" Follow this slanted story about how a gang's "Community Gun" was used to commit dozens of crimes over a six year period. The article calls it a gun problem, NOT a gang problem! These are the sites of 37 gang-related shootings that involved one gun, a Glock Model 23 .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun, that was used in Syracuse from 2009 until police recovered it last year (2015). As a side-note, the gun was legally purchased in 1999 in Vermont then stolen.	"The worst community gun: Syracuse gang used 1 Glock 37 times to wound 9, kill 1"
3/2/2016: "RAW: Houston Gun Store Smash and Grab Burglary caught on CCTV camera, Texas"	"RAW: Houston Gun Store Smash and Grab Burglary caught on CCTV camera, Texas"
2/2/2016: WCAX "NH bill would up punishment for stealing guns during burglaries" This type of law would only effect CRIMINALS. Yet, this legislation NEVER comes from the anti-gun side.	"NH bill would up punishment for stealing guns during burglaries"
11/22/2015: New York Daily News - "Homeless man finds bag full of stolen military weapons in Bronx park near Yankee Stadium" Well folks, here is the truth behind the anti-gunners' rhetoric. Guns being "trafficked" between states with "lax" gun laws into states with "strict" gun laws! I guess Massachusetts gun laws are not strict enough to stop criinals from breaking into a military facility and stealing machine guns! Guns are STOLEN by CRIMINALS ANYWHERE and brought EVERYWHERE! This criminal, FROM NEW YORK (Strict gun laws), crossed into MASSACHUSETTS (with LESS strict gun laws) BROKE INTO A MILITARY ARMORY and STOLE "military grade" firearms then trafficked them to NEW YORK (with STRICTER gun laws than Massachusetts). So much for the "Straw Purchase" rhetoric!	"Homeless man finds bag full of stolen military weapons in Bronx park near Yankee Stadium"
11/13/2015: The New York Times - "How Gun Traffickers Get Around State Gun Laws" By GREGOR AISCH and JOSH KELLER Watch how the anti-gun media uses the "Strict vs Weak" gun law narrative to push for more strict gun laws. These guns were NOT "Straw Purchased" as these ani-gunners want you to believe, but STOLEN from other states. Notice the "Iron Pipeline" has NOTHING TO DO WITH VERMONT!	"How Gun Traffickers Get Around State Gun Laws"
Gun Owners of Vermont Analysis: "SNAPSHOT ATF STATISTICS ON FIREARM TRACES 2009-2014" Get the facts on the comparison of Vermont & Massachusetts firearm traces. Gun Sense twists the facts.	SNAPSHOT ATF STATISTICS ON FIREARM TRACES 2009-2014
10/28/2015: New York Post - "The trouble with Bratton’s ‘iron pipeline’ gun complaint" by Seth Lipsky A perfect example why Vermont is NOT "The Iron Pipeline" that Vermont media outlets and Gun Sense call it! The Iron Pipeline runs from Georgia to New York up I-95.	"The trouble with Bratton’s ‘iron pipeline’ gun complaint"
10/27/2015: USA Today - "Millions of firearms records languish at National Tracing Center" HERE IS THE REGISTRY THAT WE HAVE WARNED YOU ABOUT! The federal government DOES have your firearm information! Nothing is stopping them…	"Millions of firearms records languish at National Tracing Center"
2015: ATF Analysis of "FFL Thefts/Losses in the United States Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014" A NEW report generated by the ATF due to President Obama's executive order, now proves that most "crime guns" that trace back to Vermont are most likely STOLEN from gun shops in Vermont, NOT "Straw Purchased" as our politicians who call for gun control are claiming!	Report: "FFL Thefts/Losses in the United States Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014"
6/24/2014: VT Digger - "More Vermont guns traced to out-of-state crime, but sample remains small"	"More Vermont guns traced to out-of-state crime, but sample remains small"
6/24/14: TV Digger "More Vermont guns traced to out-of-state crime, but sample remains small"	"More Vermont guns traced to out-of-state crime, but sample remains small"
2014 ATF Time-To-Crime See the facts that disprove the anti-gunner's lie that guns are "straw" purchased and immediately sold to felons.	2014 ATF Time-To-Crime
7/31/2013: New York Daily News: "Guns from out-of-state make up the grand majority of city crimes, Bloomberg attempts to push back." "90% of all guns used in city crimes in 2011 came from out-of-state, which was a 4% increase from the previous year. Mayor Bloomberg pushing for tougher laws across the country." ZERO PERCENT CAME FROM VERMONT!	"Guns from out-of-state make up the grand majority of city crimes, Bloomberg attempts to push back."
Dec 8, 2006: Vermont Guardian Big bang theory: Is Vermont flooding New England with illegal guns? This article from 2006 illustrates perfectly the same, tired, misleading "facts" are being used as justification for gun control in Vermont. NOTHING HAS CHANGED WITH THE ANTI-GUN RADICALS! BLOOMBERG was behind it then too!!	Big bang theory: Is Vermont flooding New England with illegal guns? This article could be used, word-for-word, to describe the assault on Vermont by anti-gun radicals in 2013, 2014 AND 2015!
Copyright 2024 Gun Owners of Vermont Last Updated: 01/25/2024
Want more facts? View ALL GoVT Research Analysis pages
Return to the Gun Owners of Vermont homepage