http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18722-2002Apr20.html

Saturday, April 20, 2002; Page A17

The April 12 article “Ashcroft Urged to Drop New Rule on Gun Sales” asserts that the FBI cites initiating more than “100 firearms retrieval actions” during four months last year.

How many “firearms retrieval actions” were justified and carried to the point of warrants being issued and criminals apprehended or firearms retrieved? Only that number will tell us if increased audit time yields results. Illinois Sen. Richard J. Durbin’s extrapolation of 300 guns each year left in criminal hands may be vastly overestimated.

The final sentence of the article — “The Brady Law and its background checks have stopped nearly 690,000 criminals and others from buying guns” — raises several other questions:

If “nearly 690,000 criminals and others” were stopped from buying guns, how many criminals were convicted, or even brought to prosecution for breaking this law? Of the “others” who were stopped from buying guns, how many innocent citizens were erroneously stopped? How many criminals “stopped” but not arrested for breaking this law were subsequently able to acquire firearms by illegal methods?

– James R. Wolfe