The Little Question on a Big Issue:
MATH Goes to the Source of Crime Guns

Article by Paul Sanguinetti, southcoast247.com
correspondent Photo by Dennis Yermoshin,
southcoast247.com photographer

"Where did the gun come from?" It's a simple question that is so commonly overlooked when gun crimes are committed. The name of the assailant, perhaps the victims, the location, and background of the shooter may all be looked into and reported by the media, but when does anyone ask about this crucial bit of information? It seems like a little common sense would lead one to ask this, but living in a country where politics seems to take precedence over wisdom, it doesn't always happen.

Massachusetts Against Trafficking Handguns, or MATH, has made it their goal to ask and answer this question, and to inspire this discussion and awareness to communities throughout the state. It is intended to find out where the system broke down, and hold those responsible accountable. Their official mission statement reads: " (To) *Mobilize grassroots support for policies to reduce death and injury caused with illegal guns by educating the public about the need to cut off the supply of crime guns at the source. *" This community campaign to stop illegal gun trafficking has already hosted 100 meetings in its one year of operation. The forming of the group was inspired by a new coalition of mayors (Bloomberg and Menino) called Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which formed to respond to Congress' lack of action on illegal trafficking. For more info on this, click here.

I recently spoke with one of MATH's founders, Nancy Robinson to learn more about the organization and its mission. Some of the facts presented, although not entirely surprising, were still quite alarming:

- 5 out of every 6 shootings occur with guns obtained illegally

- 92% of police officers killed are the victims of a firearm

- 77% of these shooters had previous criminal records (and should not have been able to acquire one legally)

- There are 16,000 gun homicides in the U.S.A. per year (equivalent to a Virginia Tech incident happening every day)

- 60% of illegally obtained handguns comes from 1% of federally licensed gun dealers

When I asked about the incentive for dealers to illegally sell these guns, the answer was quite simple. Guns are not a consumable product, so it's a shrinking market. Once you have a gun, you most likely don't need another, or many more, and even if you do buy a bunch more, its still a small market with a stagnating demand. Crime guns on the other hand are usually disposed of quite frequently, so the demand for guns used in crimes, is much greater and much more profitable.

It seems the political process has failed in regard to adopting and enforcing policies that make a difference. The NRA pours large sums of money into political campaigns and this can undoubtedly be reflected in the policies of those who benefit. Such is the case with Kansas Representative, Todd Tiahrt, a known recipient of NRA funds. In 2003 he wrote an amendment that put strict limits to how broadly the government can share gun tracing data, and thus greatly hampering law enforcements ability to see trends in where these illegal guns are coming from. This can also be used to reduce the liability of gun manufacturers and dealers.

The only way to have a significant impact on the accessibility of illegal handguns is to catch it at the source. If you take the local street dealer out of operation, you may take forty or fifty so guns off the street, but if you take out the big players, the impact will be so much greater. Like the war on drugs, it's hard to say how much of an impact new policies and campaigns will have, but one thing is for certain: Truth is power. The truth can never be detrimental. So by raising the question of where did the gun come from, and the awareness that may follow, a new discussion can happen, and new policies can follow, and who knows, there may just be a significant change. If only one life could be saved, I'm sure Nancy Robinson would say it was worth it.

For those of you interested in learning more about MATH and how you can become involved, contact Nancy Robinson at nancyrob@comcast.net, or by phone at: (617)-233-5363. For feedback, questions, or dialogue: paul@southcoast247.com