To hear anti-gunners tell it, the firearms industry is filled with raving lunatics who want to return the nation to the bloody Wild West era or possibly the Prohibition-fueled gangland violence of the 1920s-30s.
The reality is quite the opposite.
No one opposes having guns fall into the wrong hands more than those who cherish the Second Amendment. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the industry trade group, recently chided soft-on-crime prosecutors for enabling the same criminal acts they rail against.
2A organization declares straw purchasers must be held accountable
Every firearm purchaser must fill out ATF Form 4473 to ensure they are legally qualified to possess a weapon. When a third party buys a gun with the intention of passing it on to an unqualified person, this is a “straw purchase.”
The NSSF noted the recent terror attack at Old Dominion University as an example of “why prosecutors should be held accountable when their lax prosecutions directly lead to greater tragedies involving criminal firearm misuse—especially when guns are obtained through illegal straw purchases.”
Alleged straw purchaser has long history of such acts
It was March when Mohamed Jalloh acquired a weapon for $100 from a serial straw purchaser. The next morning, the suspect walked into an Old Dominion ROTC class in Virginia and killed Army Lt. Col. Brandon Shah and injured two others.
Courageous students fought back, and Jalloh was stabbed to death by one of the heroes.
Investigators quickly determined that the .22 caliber handgun used in the terror attack was purchased from Kenya Chapman. He remained in custody at last report to face several charges, and this is hardly his first rodeo when it comes to providing criminals with illegal firearms.
One firearm he procured for an ineligible purchaser was used to commit murder.
The NSSF correctly observed that the Old Dominion tragedy might have been averted if prosecutors took such crimes seriously. The organization spearheads the “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy” campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of straw purchases.
It declared, “The firearm industry adamantly stands by our efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of those who shouldn’t possess them, and that means being tough on those who break the law to provide guns to those who aren’t able to purchase them.”
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