Senator Kirk Press Release: WASHINGTON – Illinois’ two Senators, Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), unveiled a new bill today to combat straw purchasing and gun trafficking. The negotiated bill will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday.
The Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2013 provides law enforcement officials with the tools they need to investigate and prosecute the all-too-common practices of gun trafficking and straw purchasing, where an individual buys a firearm for someone else who is prohibited from obtaining one on their own. The measure combines legislation cracking down on straw purchasing that Senators Durbin and Leahy introduced earlier this year with an anti-trafficking bill introduced by Senators Kirk and Gillibrand. With the additional input and support of Sen. Collins (R-ME), the bill strikes a balanced approach and would create the first specific prohibitions in federal law to deter and punish the dangerous practices of straw purchasing and trafficking of firearms. Currently, there is no federal law that defines either gun trafficking or straw purchasing as crimes.