WASHINGTON - Wednesday, US Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) will join with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in introducing bi-partisan legislation aimed at gun traffickers. The Gillibrand-Kirk Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2013 would empower local, state, and federal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute gun traffickers and their entire criminal networks, including gangs, cartels and organized crime rings.
Kirk's office released this video on the background of the bill:
Specifically, Kirk's office says, the bill will make it illegal to:
- Sell or otherwise transfer 2 or more firearms to someone whom the seller knows, or has reasonable cause to know, is prohibited by Federal, State or local laws from owning a firearm (e.g. felon, convicted domestic abuser).
- Purchase or otherwise acquire 2 or more firearms if the recipient knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that such receipt would be in violation of any Federal, State, or local law (e.g. if the recipient is a prohibited owner).
- Provide false information on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives firearms
transaction record form (e.g. straw purchasing). - Knowingly facilitate the above actions.
- Exceptions are made for gifts and inheritances, so long as the giver and recipient are not prohibited by federal, state orlocal law from owning a firearm.
"Gun trafficking is allowing gangs and violence to flourish in Chicago," said Senator Kirk. "The Chicago Crime Commission reported that Chicago Police confiscate an average of 13,000 illegal weapons each year. Last summer, gang violence killed 500 men, women and children in Chicago. We must put a stop to this cycle, which is why I have joined with Senator Gillibrand to take serious action to prevent straw purchases and ensure that law enforcement has the tools it needs to crack down on illegal weapons trafficking."
