In 2020, there were about 430 million civilian guns in circulation in the U.S. An additional 4.5 million guns are held by the military, while law enforcement agencies have another 1.2 million, for a total of 398.7 million guns. This accounts for nearly half the world’s firearms, and makes America the most armed country on Earth. Nearly every gun in the United States begins as a legal gun, manufactured legally and initially sold by a federally licensed gun dealer to an individual who passes a federal background check. Each day, a firearm is stolen every 90 seconds - or nearly 380,000 guns stolen each year, many of which are later used to commit violent crimes. One survey reported an estimated 40,000 guns were stolen just from cars alone in 2021. It is generally accepted that theft is an important source of guns for youth and criminals.

Proposed Legislation: Reintroduction of H.R.2418 - Gun Trafficker Detection Act (118th Congress 2023-2024)
Prospective Sponsor: Rep. Sean Casten (IL)

• I oppose reforming current firearm theft policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Mike Johnson (LA).
• I support requiring gun owners to report the theft or loss of a firearm to law enforcement within 48 hours, with violations subject to criminal and civil penalties. And requiring states to use at least 5% of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program to implement effective management and collection of data related to lost or stolen firearms that are reported to law enforcement. And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Sean Casten (IL) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.