However, federal law does require federal firearm licensees (“FFLs”) to report multiple sales of handguns to ATF and other specified law enforcement agencies. 8 Summary of Federal Lawįederal law does not limit the number of guns a person may buy in any given time period. A February 2018 poll found that 65% of respondents support limiting the number of guns that can be purchased to one per month. 7Īmericans support laws limiting the number of guns a person may purchase in a given time frame. After Virginia introduced its one-gun-a-month law, there was a significant reduction in the number of crime guns recovered outside the state and traced back to Virginia dealers. Laws limiting multiple sales can help to reduce gun trafficking.
3 Multiple sales are a significant indicator of firearms trafficking, and firearms sold in such sales are frequently recovered at crime scenes. 2įederal law defines a “multiple sale” as the sale of two or more guns to the same purchaser within five business days. 1 States with weak gun laws attract traffickers who make multiple purchases and then resell those firearms in states with stronger gun laws. Interstate trafficking of firearms flourishes, in part, because states regulate sales differently, and there is no federal limit on the number of guns an individual may purchase at any one time. Laws limiting the number of guns someone can buy within a certain span of time help reduce gun trafficking.
Only a handful of states limit bulk gun purchases, a policy that has been proven to reduce gun trafficking and consequently gun violence. Laws limiting the number of firearms a person can purchase within a certain timeframe help reduce the number of guns that enter the secondary market-weapons that are more likely to wind up at the scene of a crime. Regulating bulk firearm purchases is a straightforward, effective way to reduce gun trafficking and save lives.