Gun trade relies too much on honor

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The shooter in the Burnsville public safety responder killings obtained some of his weaponry through loopholes in gun laws that can’t stop “straw buyers” from becoming arms dealers.

He was legally prohibited from owning guns, but he had a cache anyway.

The manager of the Modern Sportsman Gunshop and Range in Burnsville told the Star Tribune that the lower receiver of an AR-15 rifle found at the shooter’s house was purchased legally at his shop Jan. 15. It was part of the cache of weapons seized by law enforcement from the home of Shannon Gooden, who fired 100 rounds at responders, killing two officers and a paramedic.

The store had received the weapon part from an out-of-state online retailer who shipped it to the store for delivery to the person who took possession of it after passing a background check. This is known as “straw buying” if a legal buyer subsequently passes along a gun to people prohibited from having it.

The buyer is being investigated by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Gooden was not allowed to possess firearms due to previous convictions for assault. County attorneys opposed his petition to obtain guns due to orders for protection that had been filed against him.

But judges and law enforce officials say ensuring that such individuals surrender their firearms relies on the “honor system.” Very few jurisdictions have formal procedures in place for taking possession of weapons or checking in on those who shouldn’t have weapons.

Thomas Chittum, formerly of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, told the Star Tribune:

“A very small minority of jurisdictions actually have some proactive approach to ensuring someone has divested. In most places, there is no formal mechanism. It’s a place where I think law enforcement, public safety and the courts could make significant strides.”

The ATF is attempting to educate licensed gun dealers how to spot straw purchases and prevent them from happening. Minnesota Republican legislative leaders are proposing a system in which authorities will ensure that guns are removed from homes of those who are prohibited from owning them.

We have long advocated enforcing existing gun laws and increasing penalties for straw buyers. But the progress has been slow. Just last year, Minnesota DFLers finally passed a red-flag law that allows authorities a legal remedy to remove guns from someone who is a danger to themselves and others.

The ease of obtaining guns remains a significant problem, according to Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz.

“If I had 100 defendants in my courtroom and I told them all that they have one hour to go buy a firearm and get back to the courtroom, 95 of them could do it,” Schiltz told the Star Tribune.

A nationwide 2017 survey by the Annals of Internal Medicine showed 22% of gun transfers in the U.S. happened without any background check. The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence reports that 45% of online purchases involve no background check.

Minnesota should toughen gun confiscation follow-up, and local authorities should take them seriously.

Some states have figured out how to make it work.

In King County, Wash., which includes Seattle, authorities have a follow-up gun-surrender program involving judges, law enforcement and attorneys. It’s labor-intensive, but it seems to close the loophole.

But that’s the exception.

These new laws will not stop all gun violence. No law will. And it may seem like these new laws don’t make much difference with the upward trajectory of gun violence. But the new laws are well worth it if they make a difference even once or twice. And as the Burnsville case shows, police officers’ lives are the ones these laws might save.