Amo aims to stop former police guns resold by dealers from being used to commit crimes

Gun safety advocates rallied around Rhode Island’s freshman congressman Friday to support a bill aiming to stop service weapons resold by law enforcement agencies to federally licensed firearms dealers from being used to commit crimes.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I) and fellow Democrat, Maryland’s U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin on Thursday co-introduced the Responsible Retirement of Law Enforcement Firearms Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation addresses a trend by law enforcement agencies to trade or resell retired firearms to firearms dealers in exchange for discounts on new equipment. 

Some of these guns have subsequently been involved in shootings, domestic violence incidents, and other violent crimes. A CBS News investigation in May reported over 52,000 retired police firearms have been found at crime scenes since 2006. The report noted that weapons sold by police agencies enter a secondary market to be resold to the public or other dealers. Guns that turn up at crime scenes could have been resold multiple times without a paper trail. 

“In fact, many of these guns had previously been service weapons designed to keep our brave police officers safe as they protect our communities,” Amo said during a press briefing at the Nonviolence Institute in Providence. “That’s unacceptable. That has to stop.”

The proposed legislation would require police departments applying for the federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant to certify they will not retire or purchase firearms from firearms dealers with a history of selling guns used in crimes. The bill would direct the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to create a registry listing dealers found to have sold guns that ended up being used to commit crimes. 

Amo’s bill has been endorsed by the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association; Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence; Rhode Island International Brotherhood of Police Officers; Nonviolence Institute; Brady: United Against Gun Violence; Giffords; Everytown for Gun Safety; March for Our Lives; Guns Down America; and Newtown Action Alliance.

The legislation will face an uphill battle in a Republican-controlled House. It also leaves law-abiding gun shop owners and Second Amendment organizations with lots of questions about how it is supposed to work.

“Are there some dealers historically that have broken the law? For sure,” Sandy Kane, owner of Kane’s Gun Shop in North Kingstown, said in an interview. “I’ve sold a lot of police firearms over the last 44 years — either trade-ins or whatnot — and we’ve always followed federal firearms licensee programs like we’re supposed to.”

Glenn Valentine, the president of the Rhode Island Second Amendment PAC, told Rhode Island Current he does not believe the federal legislation will effect the change its sponsors are seeking.

“All it does is ensure that tiny departments across the country will never be able to purchase new weapons if they’re not generating revenue to replace them,” Valentine said in an email.

Kane said if a person legally buys a firearm and uses it for a felony, that’s already covered by state and federal law.

“I’m really not quite sure what this bill is about,” he said.

‘Transparency and accountability’ 

Dealers would be listed if there were at least 25 incidents in which a gun sold from their sold was found at a crime scene in two out of three consecutive years, said Sid Wordell, executive director of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, who attended Friday’s news conference.  

“These provisions create transparency and accountability that will ensure our retired firearms do not contribute to the very problem we are working tirelessly to combat,” Wordell said.

There are 114 federally licensed firearm dealers and pawnbrokers in Rhode Island, according to ATF data. However, Wordell said he was not aware if there were major issues with guns retired from local police departments sold from those businesses ending up at crime scenes.

“But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a possibility,” Wordell told reporters after the press conference.

“Although we have different jobs, we all want to ensure firearms don’t end up in the hands of people that shouldn’t have them,” Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence Executive Director Melissa Carden said at Friday’s press conference. “Blocking the flow of police guns to crime scenes is one way to keep our neighborhoods safer.”

Even if the bill were to clear Congress and the president’s desk, there is the potential it could be struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has expanded its interpretation of the Second Amendment in recent cases such as  New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision. 

Judges topple gun restrictions as courts chart an uncertain path forward

The June 2022 ruling held that the Second Amendment protects a person’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home and that firearm regulations must have some historical comparison going back to the country’s founding.

Amo maintained the push to keep unethical firearm dealers from selling is a fight worth taking.

“You can’t preemptively knock yourself out of seeking solutions because you’re afraid of what might happen,” he said. “That’s not what I got sent to Washington to do — it was to try to advance an agenda that improves the lives of people here in Rhode Island and across the country by any means.”

The legislation has 10 additional co-sponsors — all Democrats, including Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District Rep. Seth Magaziner. 

“Too many families know the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence, and we need to keep pushing for commonsense solutions like Rep. Amo’s Responsible Retirement of Law Enforcement Firearms Act to keep Americans safe,” Magaziner said. “Last Congress, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass commonsense gun safety reform into law, and we must keep fighting to bring attention to this important issue and encourage our colleagues across the aisle to act with courage and save lives.”

Spokespeople for Rhode Island’s U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Amo’s bill now heads to the House Judiciary Committee, where Raskin is expected to be the incoming ranking member when the 119th Congress begins on Jan. 3.

“We’ve got to pound the pavement, we’ve got to knock on doors, and have conversations in the halls of Congress,” Amo said.

This story was updated Dec. 16 to clarify how federally licensed firearm dealers would be listed on the potential ATF registry.