Number Of U.S. Gun Dealers Drops Almost 80% Since 1994
The number of gun dealers in America has dropped by 190,726 since 1994 according to a new study released by the Violence Policy Center (VPC).
The study found that the number of Type 1 Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) plummeted 78%: from 245,628 in 1994 to 54,902 in 2005. (The Type 1 FFL is the basic federal license required to sell guns in America.)
The 1992 VPC publication More Gun Dealers Than Gas Stations first focused national attention on abuses by FFL holders and revealed that at the time of its release, the number of Americans who possessed the Type 1 FFL outnumbered gas stations 245,000 to 210,000.
The bulk of the licenses were held by illegitimate “kitchen-table” dealers who operated out of their homes or offices, an unknown percentageage of which were actively involved in criminal gun trafficking.
As the result of policy recommendations contained in the study that were implemented under the Clinton Administration, today only five states have more gun dealers than gas stations. Those states are:
Alaska 844 Gun Dealers; 229 Gas Stations
Oregon 1,479 Gun Dealers; 1,146 Gas Stations
Idaho 682 Gun Dealers; 663 Gas Stations
Wyoming 550 Gun Dealers; 401 Gas Stations
Montana 1,017 Gun Dealers; 597 Gas Stations
U.S. Total is 54,902 Gun Dealers versus 121,363 Gas Stations.
California posted the largest decrease in the number of gun dealers of any state in the nation, dropping from 20,148 in 1994 to 2,438 in 2005–a drop of 88%. VPC Policy Analyst Marty Langley states, “The sharp drop in gun dealers is one of the most important–and little noticed–victories in the effort to reduce firearms violence in America. The dramatic drop in dealers aids not only federal law enforcement, but cities and states as they continue their efforts to reduce illegal firearms trafficking and firearms violence.”
The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.