US senators have made gun trafficking a ‘federal crime’
6 March 2013 7:46 AM IST
Gun trafficking and purchasing firearms with the intent of transferring them to someone else would become federal crimes under bipartisan legislation announced by five US senators.
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, said on Monday that the bill would establish tough penalties for those who buy a firearm or ammunition with the intent of transferring it to a criminal or a person barred from gun ownership, known as a straw purchase.
The measure would also make it a crime to smuggle firearms out of the United States. The Judiciary Committee has taken a lead in considering the gun violence issue following the shooting massacre last December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and six educators dead. Leahy said there is no federal law now that defines either gun trafficking or straw purchasing as crimes.
The legislation will be taken up by the Judiciary Committee on Thursday to reduce gun violence.
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, said on Monday that the bill would establish tough penalties for those who buy a firearm or ammunition with the intent of transferring it to a criminal or a person barred from gun ownership, known as a straw purchase.
The measure would also make it a crime to smuggle firearms out of the United States. The Judiciary Committee has taken a lead in considering the gun violence issue following the shooting massacre last December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and six educators dead. Leahy said there is no federal law now that defines either gun trafficking or straw purchasing as crimes.
The legislation will be taken up by the Judiciary Committee on Thursday to reduce gun violence.
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