In radio and billboard ads across the country, the federal government
is telling potential gun buyers "don't lie for the other guy." The
campaign message is intended to stop those with clean criminal records
from buying firearms for felons who legally can't buy guns on their
own.
The message underscores the full-court press in Washington to adopt
sweeping new gun control laws, from universal background checks to a ban
on military-style rifles and large ammunition magazines.
However, recent studies show the Obama administration has not
enforced many gun laws already on books -- with gun crime prosecutions
hitting a decade low in 2011, down 40 percent from their peak under
President George W. Bush in 2004, according to federal data crunched by
Syracuse University. The SU study prompted 23 House Republicans on
Friday to call on President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to
prosecute more people for gun-related crimes.
"It is imprudent to simply call for new laws without examining the
efficacy of the current laws," wrote House Judiciary Committee Chairman
Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. "We must all be looking for ways to prevent
senseless acts of violence and the taking of innocent life, but the best
place to start would be enforcing the laws that Congress has already
enacted."
The Syracuse study found the number of federal weapons prosecutions
fell from about 11,000 in 2004 to about 6,000 under the Obama
administration in 2011 -- and ticked up to 7,770 in 2012.
The GOP letter also cited data from the National Criminal Justice
Reference Service (NCJRS), which found in 2010, of 6 million Americans
who applied to buy a gun, less than 2 percent -- or 76,000 -- were
denied. Of those, the ATF referred 4,732 cases for prosecution. Of them,
just 44 were prosecuted, and only 13 were punished for lying or buying a
gun illegally.
"If the prosecution of people lying on forms is really a priority for
the president, then all he has to do is say, 'I want my federal law
enforcement officials to prosecute these kinds of cases,'" former
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told Fox News. "Obviously there is a
different level of priority given to these type of crimes in this
administration compared with other administrations."
Justice Department sources argue the attorney general has finite
resources. DOJ prefers to prosecute prohibited persons who actually
obtain guns illegally, who've gotten around the background check system,
rather than just those who just lie on the form, which is also a
crime.
A source also said so-called "lie and try" cases have little jury
appeal. They are essentially about lying on a form where the person was
ultimately denied the ability to purchase the gun. Juries, in these
cases, have a tendency to question whether any harm was done, because
the individual did not get the gun.
Prosecutions for making a false statement when buying a gun are down
29 percent from five years ago, while prosecutions for illegal
possession are down 14 percent, according to federal data. Penalties are
also light. Data compiled by the U.S. attorney's office shows a third
of those charged with gun crimes serve no jail at all, and those who do
typically only serve one to four years of a possible 10-year sentence
for lying or illegally possessing a firearm.
"I think when we punish the bad guys we are protecting the good
guys," said Republican Rep. Scott Rigell of Virginia. "That is the
essence of this bill. When four out of 10 straw buyers suffer no
meaningful consequences for what they did, we have a problem."
Rigell is one of four lawmakers proposing a bill to make straw
purchases a federal crime. The bill would also increase the penalty from
10 to 20 years.
