Agency Details 13-Percent Drop in Prosecutions

Clinton, Gore & Reno Let 500,000 Likely Felons Pass Right Under Their Noses

"We have witnessed a 22-percent increase in the combined number of state and federal [gun] prosecutions since 1992 . . ."

Attorney General Janet Reno, February 7, 2000

The Attorney General is correct about this much: if gun-crime prosecutions have increased since 1992, she and the rest of the Clinton-Gore Administration were only witnesses. Federal prosecutions have fallen at the same time background checks have given law enforcement the perfect tool for tracking down and locking up criminals trying to buy guns.

• Federal prosecutions of firearms offenders have fallen 13 percent compared to 1992. In its last year (1992), the Bush-Quayle Administration prosecuted 7,621 defendants charged with a firearms offense. Since then, prosecutions fell to 5,993 in 1997 before rebounding somewhat to 7,146 in 1999. The Clinton-Gore Administration has prosecuted an average of 6,659 accused firearms offenders per year -- a 13-percent drop from 1992.
• The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) claims part of the decline is attributable to the Supreme Court's 1995 Bailey decision, which made it more difficult to prosecute those who use a gun in commission of a violent or drug trafficking offense. However, overall prosecutions had already fallen 8 percent from 1992 levels before the effect of the Bailey decision was felt in 1996. Moreover, Bailey-type prosecutions began to decline before the decision. In 1992-93, federal prosecutors dropped Bailey-type charges in less than 25 percent of cases. That figure rose to 37.5 percent in 1994 and 50.3 percent in 1995.
• Under the Bush-Quayle Administration's Project Triggerlock, gun-crime investigations increased 36 percent from 1990 to 1992. Under the current administration, investigations of firearms crimes have fallen below 1990 levels.

However, simple comparisons to the Bush-Quayle years do not tell the full story of the Clinton-Gore Administration's failure.

Starting in 1994, the Brady Act required handgun purchasers (and since 1998, long gun purchasers) to undergo a background check in addition to attesting on a federal form (ATF Form 4473) that they are not disqualified from purchasing a firearm. To falsify ATF Form 4473 knowingly is a felony (18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6)) punishable by 10 years in prison.

Since then, there have been about 22 million background checks conducted on gun purchasers, including 536,000 rejected applications. About 75 percent were rejected because the applicant was a felon or a fugitive. Most of the remainder were disqualified due to a history of domestic violence, mental illness, or drug addiction. Not all rejected applicants necessarily broke the law. About 3 percent of FBI denials were reversed on appeal in 1998. Also, it is conceivable some rejected applicants did not know they were disqualified. Still, most felons and fugitives are aware of their legal status.

Therefore, each of these 536,000 rejected applications represents a likely § 922(a) violation (falsifying ATF Form 4473). Moreover, the background check process has given law enforcement access to the names, addresses, and even photos (many gun stores have security cameras) of up to half a million likely felons. Since November 1998, law enforcement has had access to instant notification of the likely felony-in-progress and its location. So what has the Clinton-Gore Administration done with this information?

• As the number of likely § 922(a) felonies climbed to 536,000 in 1999, § 922(a) prosecutions fell 36 percent from pre-Brady levels. In 1993, the Clinton-Gore Administration prosecuted 633 people under § 922(a). That fell to 279 in 1997 and rose to 405 in 1999. From 1994 to 1999, the Administration prosecuted an average of 404 defendants under § 922(a) annually -- a 36-percent drop from 1993. In other words, the Clinton-Gore Administration enforced this gun law more aggressively when it had less information about potential violations. This is particularly egregious when one considers data on § 922(a) prosecutions include many non-falsification offenses.

Compared to the growth in the number of potential federal firearms violations, it seems generous to say gun prosecutions under the Clinton-Gore Administration dropped an average of 13 percent from 1992 levels. That is because even with their work cut out for them, the Messrs. Clinton and Gore can't bring themselves to enforce existing gun laws.

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