Seems Chicago has a problem with guns coming from out of state. They sentenced a drug dealer and gun smuggler to 15 years yesterday. Seems that this guy had friends who would do straw purchases out of state, and then he would sell them in Chicago. The wily ATF figured it out after several traces led back to one gunshop in Mississippi.
Sounds like the tracing system worked just fine to me.
Sounds like the dealer did his job, too. The people he sold to weren’t prohibited, and passed the Brady background check.
Now, get this: According to the report, a $165 “assault rifle” (I’d guess an SKS) sells for $2,000 in Chicago.
That’s called supply and demand. Lesson #1 in economics – where there is demand, there will be a supply. Example: England. Banned all handguns, confiscated every registered one, and handgun crime has never been higher.
The proposed solution to this gun-smuggling problem? “(G)un control advocates say the interstate trafficking will continue to be a huge problem until states have uniform gun laws.”
I’d go along with that. Get rid of the Illinois FOID card, let law-abiding Chicagoans have handguns again, and pass shall-issue concealed-carry. That would help. Bet the murder rate in Chicago would drop.