Global Action on Gun Violence found that 84.6 percent of crime guns in Canada come from the US
The Global Action on Gun Violence organization has released a report calling for legislative, policy, and industry reforms to combat the trafficking of crime guns into Canada from the US.
Per the report, the US is a major gun trafficking source, with firearms smuggled from states with weak gun laws to those with enhanced gun laws before being shipped to countries with strict gun laws. This facilitates organized crime, gun trafficking, human trafficking, and other public health, human rights, and societal harms.
The report revealed that 84.6 percent of crime guns in Canada come from the US, with the state of Ohio being the primary source due to its weak gun legislation, sizable firearms market, loose private-sale and gun-show environment, light dealer oversight, industry protections, and restrictions on local regulation.
The Great Lakes region in the US – which encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – also traffics guns to Latin American countries, the Caribbean, Saudi Arabia, and the Ivory Coast. Michigan is the fifth largest supplier of crime guns, according to the report.
“The U.S. gun violence epidemic is causing a regional and global pandemic. This data confirms that overwhelming majorities of crime guns in Canada and the Caribbean flow directly from U.S. gun shops, as a result of reckless gun industry practices enabled by weak U.S. laws,” said Jonathan Lowy, GAGV’s founder and president, in a statement.
The report suggested federal- and state-level legal and policy amendments addressing the concern. It also encouraged litigation to be brought against gun industry companies driving gun trafficking from in and outside the US.
It recommended policies and industry changes that limit crime gun supply at the source, including universal background checks, buyer licensing or individualized vetting, greater scrutiny of bulk and repeat sales, enhanced dealer oversight, mandatory tracing, and repealing legal barriers that enable the gun industry to duck accountability.
The report called for specific reforms centered on Ohio. It also urged stronger cross-border enforcement on firearms trafficking into Canada.
“This report puts Canada and the Great Lakes Region on the radar as a hotspot for trafficked firearms. We have seen the devastating injuries and harm that gun violence causes families in Canada,” said Paul Miller, Howie Sacks & Henry partner, in a statement. “Cross-border conversations about this pipeline help us develop strategies to hold those responsible accountable.”
