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They are increasingly a source of weapons used in crimes, advocates were told at City Hall.
By Robert Moran
Inquirer Staff Writer

Gun-control advocates joined Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson yesterday in calling for more prosecutions of gun dealers who sell to the gun-traffickers and straw purchasers fueling the violence plaguing Philadelphia and other cities.

At City Hall, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence released a national report, "Shady Dealings: Illegal Gun Trafficking from Licensed Gun Dealers," that highlights more than two dozen cases - including nine in Pennsylvania - of dealers who sold guns that wound up in the hands of criminals. The criminals were prosecuted but the dealers were not.

"The recent upsurge in criminal gun violence places renewed importance on the question: Where do criminals get their guns?" the report states.

The report identified, among others, Abington Gun Sports in Willow Grove, which allegedly sold to female straw buyers working for a man who authorities say then went on a rampage in Philadelphia in 2003, holding up fast-food restaurants, carjacking a Lexus, and robbing a bank of nearly $60,000.

The guns the women bought included an AK-47 SAR assault rifle, two 12-gauge shotguns, a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle, and a Marlon 30-30 rifle, according to the federal indictment of Andre Henry, three other men and three female straw purchasers. The case is pending.

"Is it any wonder that Philadelphia streets are overrun by illegal guns?" asked Brian J. Siebel, coauthor of the report.

Johnson said Philadelphia needed federal help because Pennsylvania gun laws are weak.

Frank D. Strange, owner of Abington Gun Sports, said in a phone interview that he was vigilant about straw buyers and anyone else who shouldn't be buying guns, but that he couldn't spot everybody trying to fool him.

He said that in an effort to thwart illegal purchases, he bans customers from using cell phones in his store to prevent possible straw buyers from getting advice about which guns to buy.

He also said that when he suspects people are acting as straw buyers, he lets them fill out all the paperwork first, then refuses to make the sale. He then provides the completed paperwork and ID evidence to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which investigates gun trafficking.

In addition to the regular reports he must make to the ATF, Strange said, he must submit a separate report every three months about his activity because his store has a higher-than-normal rating for "time to crime" - the time that passes before a gun he sold is used in a crime.

He attributed the rating to his proximity to Philadelphia, but he said he can't stop selling to people from Philadelphia if they appear to be legitimate buyers.

Strange, 63, a retired banker, called the Brady Center "a bunch of whackjobs" who want to "disarm everybody."

Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Center and former mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., said the ATF had been greatly weakened by pro-dealer legislation Congress passed, including some laws dating to 1986.

For example, if ATF agents make a surprise visit to a gun shop suspected of breaking the law, they are not allowed to make another surprise visit for 12 months, Helmke said. During that period, the ATF must warn the dealer in advance that they are coming.

Strange, who has owned his shop for about eight years, said ATF agents had inspected it three or four times, most recently last week when they came in to retrieve all his sales documentation from last year. He said the visits were all unannounced.

With Democrats now in control of Congress, gun-control advocates and law enforcement leaders will press their case for new laws and tougher enforcement.

Today, Mayor Street is expected to join more than 50 other mayors, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, at a summit in Washington to address the proliferation of illegal guns.
Contact staff writer Robert Moran at 215-854-5983 or bmoran@phillynews.com.

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