Mike Levin: “a recent report published by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence cites numerous examples of reckless sales and…”

“a recent report published by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence cites numerous examples of reckless sales and distribution practices by gun manufacturers, distributors and dealers. The report, entitled ``Smoking Guns: Exposing the Gun Industry's Complicity in the Illegal Gun Market,'' reveals a disturbing pattern of negligence by some in the gun industry. In one example, in 1996, according to the report, the owner and six employees of a California gun store were arrested for numerous Federal firearms offenses. The violations included selling illegally converted, fully automatic AK-47 assault rifles and having employees encourage customers to obtain false identification in order to skirt legal requirements for gun ownership. Even after the owner of the store was sent to prison, Heckler & Koch and other gun manufacturers, according to the report, continued to supply the store. In a letter explaining their ongoing business with the gun store, Heckler & Koch wrote that it ``is not our intention to turn away business.'' More recently, the sniper shootings that paralyzed the Washington, DC, area last year were committed with a rifle traced to a gun store in Tacoma, WA. According to the report, the Bushmaster semi-automatic assault rifle possessed by the sniper suspects was only one of 238 guns missing from the store's inventory.”