House Oversight Committee to examine role of licensed gun dealers

The House Oversight and Reform Committee said Friday that it will examine the role of licensed gun dealers as it looks into gun violence in the wake of two mass shootings that left 31 people dead. 

Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) wrote to Regina Lombardo, the acting deputy director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) asking for documents on gun dealers, known as federal firearms licensees, that sell guns that have been used in crimes since 2014. 

{mosads}“Gun violence has caused communities across the country to suffer from the tragic loss of lives as well as the erosion of security in our public spaces, places of worship, offices, and our children’s schools,” Cummings wrote in his letter to the ATF. “This cannot be allowed to continue unchecked.”

“The Committee is gravely concerned that current law enforcement efforts are not adequately addressing this crisis,” he added, noting the panel “is seeking to better understand enforcement efforts with respect to FFLs [federal firearms licensees] that sell large number of guns that are used in crimes, including in homicides.”

Cummings then requested documents relating to the top federal firearms licensees responsible for the sale of recovered firearms. 

His letter cited a 2000 ATF study that found that 1.2 percent of gun dealers accounted for more than 57 percent of crime guns traced to dealers in 1998.

ATF spokeswoman April Langwell confirmed that the bureau had received the letter, but declined to comment further, saying that the bureau does not provide committee correspondence to the media.