The Business of Guns

misdemeanor, punishable by a fine rather than prison time. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report in 2004 on federal firearm licenses, noting that the program for inspection was “not fully effective for ensuring that [licensed sellers] comply with federal firearms laws because inspections are infrequent and of inconsistent quality, and follow-up inspections and adverse actions have been sporadic.” On average, dealers receive an inspection once a decade. Over half of all federally licensed firearm dealers have not been inspected within the past five years. These inspections, furthermore, rarely lead to prosecutions. A 2010 Washington Post report found that prosecutions of corrupt licensed dealers amount to as few as 15 per year. “I think the public doesn’t understand how small ATF is,” said former agent David Chipman. “ATF has 2,600 special agents . . . I think the Capitol Police Department here in [Washington, D.C.] has 2,200 sworn officers.”

Buying and Selling Antique Guns

One major gun market in the United States focuses on historical firearms. The laws on purchasing antique firearms are far more lenient than those for modern-era guns. Any firearmmade prior to 1898 is classified as an antique and not subject to federal gun law jurisdiction, meaning that there is usually no need to conduct background checks on the buying and selling of these guns. One exception is if the antique is itself a machine gun, such as the 1895 Colt “Potato digger,” so named because its stock resembles a shovel.

The Business of Guns

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