Wolf in sheep's clothing releases study on Ohio

January 13, 2004
Dayton Daily News

Six Ohio gun dealers named to national list

Six Ohio gun dealers made it onto a list of the nation's top 120 stores who sold guns later used in a crime, according to a study released Monday by Americans for Gun Safety.

Two of the six were two in the Cleveland area, two in Columbus, one in Akron and one in Gallipolis. At least two of them are no longer in business, or no longer sell guns.

Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Americans for Gun Safety counted guns traced from crime scenes from 1996 to 2000 back to their original retailers. The study found 15 percent of the guns came from the 120 stores that had at least 200 such traces.

There are more than 80,000 licensed gun dealers in the United States.

A Riverdale, Ill., store had the highest number of traces: 2,370. The lowest of the 120 was in Alberquerque, N.M., which had 200. The highest Ohio number, sold from Atlantic Gun & Tackle in Bedford Heights, was 909, the eighth highest in the nation.

"Once a customer buys a gun and leaves the store, there's absolutely nothing we can do," said an employee of Atlantic Gun & Tackle, who declined to give his name. He likened the situation to tracing cars used in drunken-driving cases back to the auto dealership. "Would there be a connection there? I don't think so."

Commentary by Chad D. Baus:
The group which released the report, Americans for Gun Safety, claims it supports the Second Amendment, and simply seeks responsible "gun-safety" policies that keep them out of the hands of criminals.

Since the Ohio media obediently printed this gun control study, entitled "Selling Crime", where were they when OFCC released "Ohio - The Heart of All Defenselessness", which used 20 years of FBI statistics and research from Professor David Mustard to reveal that a concealed carry law in Ohio would prevent some 3 murders, 18 rapes, 29 robberies, and as many as 96 aggravated assaults each month in our state?

At least this Dayton Daily News story got one thing right - they referred to AGS as a gun control group: "Monster.com billionaire Andrew McKelvey founded the gun control group in 2000. According to Newsweek, he committed more than $12 million toward its creation."

McKelvey knows "gun control" doesn't sell, and thus has always tried to avoid being called that, saying it turns off a large portion of the population who reject interference.

The billionaire first became interested in doing something about guns after the school shootings that shocked the nation.

His first step was to donate a sizable chunk of money to the legal and research arm of gun control group Handgun Control, recently retread as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

But the more he got involved in the group, he said, the more convinced he became the words "handgun control" were harmful and that a more moderate approach was needed.

"I told them that Handgun Control was the wrong name. I thought what they were doing was great but I thought it could be done differently," McKelvey said. McKelvey has never even owned a gun.

A quick visit to the Americans for Gun Safety website will let the visitor know that they aren't the least bit concerned for firearms safety. There is no information on the website about the proper handling of firearms, safety practices on the range, or anything of the kind.

A review of their legislative priorities will confirm the truth - this is yet another group devoted to taking firearms out of the hands of the innocent, in a futile attempt to prevent criminals from obtaining them.

It hasn't worked in Australia, Great Britain, Canada, and it won't work here.

Information on McKelvey compiled from a Reuters story by Sue Pleming.

Related Story:
Houston Chronicle: Concerns about gun stores misguided
A Washington-based non-profit group called Americans for Gun Safety claims to take the middle ground on gun ownership. I question its neutrality.