May 15, 2003

Attorney General John Ashcroft
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Attorney General Ashcroft:

I am writing to express my serious concerns over recent reports that the United States Department of Justice is failing to enforce our nation's gun laws. Gun violence kills more than 10,000 people each year. I firmly believe that the failure to adequately respond to gun crimes poses real threats to our nation's health and safety

An article in yesterday's New York Times announced the release of a report by the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation titled "The Enforcement Gap: Federal Gun Laws Ignored," which claims that the Department of Justice is not enforcing the vast majority of federal firearms statutes currently in place - particularly those laws covering corrupt gun dealers and illegal distribution.

According to the report and to data provided by the Department of Justice, the Department is focusing most of its efforts on individuals who illegally use or possess one or several firearms, rather than the enormous problem of corrupt gun dealers, straw purchasers, and illegal gun distribution. Federal prosecutors have filed approximately 25,002 gun crime cases in the past three fiscal years. Of those cases, 85% of the prosecutions fell under two single federal statutes: illegal possession of a firearm by a felon or prohibited buyer and possession of a firearm while in commission of a violent or drug-related federal crime.

Meanwhile, during this same time period, 450,000 individuals lied on federal background check forms during gun checks, and some 420,000 firearms were stolen. Furthermore, over 330,000 guns were used in violent crimes where it appeared that the gun was obtained through illegal gun trafficking, and 93,000 gun crimes were committed by juveniles. This data clearly shows that well over a million violations of federal gun laws occurred in the past few years. Essentially, then, there are only two federal prosecutions for every 100 federal gun crimes.

My home state of California has also experienced large numbers of gun crimes that have gone unenforced. For example, from Fiscal Year 2000 to Fiscal Year 2002, an estimated 28,300 guns were stolen in California. Despite this alarmingly high number, there were only 11 Federal prosecutions of stolen firearms that took place during that time period.

Based on the 93,000 violent gun crimes committed by juveniles in the last there fiscal years, it is clear that minors are readily getting their hands on guns and numerous reports and incidents have brought to light the frequency with which minors are able to obtain guns from dealers and illegal traffickers. Yet despite the extraordinary amount of gun violence committed by juveniles across the country, only 24 cases were filed by federal prosecutors for selling firearms to minors.

I find the apparent failure to crack down on crimes tied to corrupt gun stores, illegal firearms traffickers, straw purchasers, those who sell to juveniles, gun thieves and others greatly disturbing. I strongly believe that enforcement of these gun laws is crucial to reducing the amount of gun violence that afflicts our nation.

I would very much appreciate learning what you and your staff are planning to do to enforce gun laws in America. This report is daunting in revealing a clear lack of enforcement and prosecution by this Department of Justice. I appreciate your reviewing my concerns and look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein