Straw purchases account for only a small amount of the guns that end up in criminal hands, but they're probably the one place the ATF figures they can direct attention and hopefully make some headway. They may well be right, though since it's the ATF, they'll find a way to screw it up.

In Savannah, a recent arrest of a straw buyer who was seeking to buy guns that would then be trafficked north to New York prompted a lot of concern.

So, it seems that the ATF and the DOJ got together and are seeking to address the issue.

They're kicking off a campaign.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) held a news conference on Tuesday morning to announce the launch of “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy,” an anti-gun trafficking campaign.

The news conference, which was held in the U.S. Attorney’s conference room at the Cay Building on 22 Barnard St., addressed the regularity of straw purchases in the Savannah area, gave warning to prospective gun buyers about the consequences of straw purchases and explained how local and federal law enforcement agencies are cracking down on straw purchasers.

A straw purchase occurs when someone purchases a gun legally on behalf of another who is prohibited from making the purchase themselves.

The news conference comes about two months after the U.S. Attorney’s Office issued a press release about the arrest of a man who is charged with conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms from Savannah to Brooklyn, New York, a route commonly referred to as the Iron Pipeline. The conference also came nearly one year after the Savannah Morning News published a series of stories about the prevalence of the Iron Pipeline and the high number of guns used in crimes in Savannah in 2022 bought legally within the state, including at a local pawn shop.

Well...that's underwhelming.

When I first skimmed this article, I thought we were talking about a task force looking to crack down on straw purchases. I wasn't hopeful it would make a tremendous impact, but as we tend to tell folks to enforce the current laws before demanding new ones, I didn't see it as the most awful thing in the world.

But it's not. It's a PR campaign telling people they really shouldn't break the law.

Absolutely brilliant.

Does anyone think that straw buyers are completely ignorant that what they're doing is wrong? Oh, I know they might tell prosecutors that, but if your butt is in a crack, are you going to admit that you knew you were breaking the law and did it anyway? Of course not.

The 4473 includes plenty of indicators that they're breaking the law if they're buying a gun for someone who can't lawfully buy for themselves, and yet they still do it. Do they actually think "Don't buy for the other guy" is going to accomplish all that much?

And to think that our tax dollars paid for this.

Of course, we should also remember that this whole situation illustrates why gun control doesn't work in the first place. Criminals will get guns from somewhere no matter what laws you pass. That's what was going on that prompted this and it's what will continue happening no matter what you do.