Much like an over-21 sibling or relative buying alcohol on behalf of their below-21 friends or relatives, people will purchase firearms on behalf of people not legally permitted to own one, known as "straw purchasers." Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL) has introduced a bill aimed at hampering this phenomenon by punishing gun sellers who enable straw purchasers, saying it would "get to the root of the problem and hold gun retailers accountable for their part in enabling straw purchasing and for the pain and hurt they inflict on our people."
Named the Prevent Illegal Gun Resales Act, the bill would tighten license application requirements and increase licensing fees. Additionally, Rep. Frost's Act would include definitions for "high-risk dealers" who have had a known violation or warning from authorities within three years, had guns lost or stolen within the last year, and if firearms used in crime could be traced back to their store.
Other provisions would require the modernization of recordkeeping and an increase in security measures, such as keeping a gun store's stock in a safe after hours, designed to prevent theft.
Rep. Frost also cited a statistic showing that 90 percent of gun crime is enabled by 5 percent of gun dealers who do not adequately counter straw purchasers. In 2015, Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) repeated the claim. However, the Arizona Republic ruled the claim inconclusive because the original data was from 1998, and no new data has been collected.
Nevertheless, Frost said in his press release, "Gun sellers who turn a blind eye to the person purchasing a gun from them are a danger to our communities. These sellers should be held more responsible for the lives lost, the families destroyed, or the neighborhoods forever changed by gun violence. They only care about making a sale. The Prevent Illegal Gun Resales Act is one of the steps we need to take to get to the root of the problem and hold gun retailers accountable for their part in enabling straw purchasing and for the pain and hurt they inflict on our people."
Frost's Prevent Illegal Gun Sales Act comes hot on the heels of another gun bill introduced recently, which targeted "zombie guns," firearms built from reassembled parts, effectively creating extralegal firearms purchases outside of regulations.
