Most Extensive Federal Gun Crime Report in 20 Years Shows More Legally Bought Firearms Are Being Used in Crimes

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has released the most extensive federal gun crime report in more than 20 years. It showed that firearms bought legally are being used more in crimes around the United States.

The ATF report showed that 54% of guns recovered by the police at crime scenes in 2021 had been bought within three years, which was a double-digit rise since 2019, the Associated Press reported.

The report also showed a shortening turnaround between the time a gun was bought and when it was recovered from a crime scene. The faster turnaround can indicate illegal gun trafficking or a straw sale or when someone who can legally buy a gun sells it to someone who cannot legally get firearms.

That means that legally-bought firearms are now being used more quickly in gun violence-related crimes around the country. The data also showed that more ghost guns, which are privately made firearms that are difficult to trace and many of which are 3D-printed, have been seized at crime scenes around the U.S.

The report also showed a more than five-fold rise in the number of devices that convert a legal semi-automatic weapon into an illegal, fully automatic gun. Attorney General Merrick Garland was the one who told the ATF to produce the first comprehensive study of criminal gun trafficking in the U.S. in more than two decades.

Sharp Rise of Guns in the United States

The report aimed at helping police, as well as policymakers, address the issue of the rising gun violence in the country, according to ATF Director Steve Dettelbach. According to NBC Dallas and Fort Worth, this report came at a time when violent crime was rising in the United States, particularly from guns.

The report noted there were more than 19,000 privately made firearms in 2021, more than double in 2020. The overall number of new guns in the U.S. also grew significantly as firearms sales broke records during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATF Director Says Surge in Gun Violence is Unacceptable

Before the report was released, Steve Dettelbach, Director of the ATF, was asked by ABC News' Linsey Davis about the surge in mass shootings and what should be done to slow the rise of gun violence in the country.

Dettelbach noted that the amount and nature of gun violence in the country right now is "wholly unacceptable," and "one of the most important things we can start with is calling that out."

He said he fears that "people will somehow come to accept or be callous to the idea that this level of firearm violence is somehow just something that's part of being in our country, part of being an American."

When asked about ghost guns, Dettelbach noted that while they are unserialized and untraceable, they are still subject to the same provisions as traditional firearms under the Gun Control Act. He said they would do everything to enforce the law passed by Congress.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: ATF Director: Gun Violence in the U.S. Is 'Wholly Unacceptable' - From ABC News