Stolen Guns Data Reveals Background Checks = Security Theater :: 12/30/2014

If you own a gun and it gets stolen, chances are you won’t get it back. That’s the not entirely surprising conclusion from a stolen gun study in The Land of Lincoln. Make the jump for the official stats, via sj-r.com. Meanwhile, “According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey, an average of 232,400 guns were stolen each year from 2005 to 2010. Guns were recovered in only 17 percent of reported burglaries and in 15 percent of other property crimes.” Assuming that rate has continued to today, ignoring the possibility that there are at least as many guns stolen that were not reported . . .

We can safely state that there are millions of stolen guns in circulation in the United States. So tightening background check laws will do nothing – not one thing – to stifle or eliminate the supply of stolen guns for criminals. In fact, that stat tells us that background checks are nothing but security theater. Well, that and a statist attempt to delay, degrade and/or destroy Americans’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.

Stolen guns by the numbers [drawn from three years’ worth of Springfield Illinois Police Department data]

There were 291 guns stolen in Springfield between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 11, 2014. In that timeframe, 13 of those guns were recovered, a rate of less than 4.5 percent.
In the 35 full months surveyed, 284 guns were stolen. That’s just over eight guns stolen per month or one gun stolen every 3.75 days.
Between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 11, 2014, a total of 186 incidents were reported involving the theft of a firearm. In the 35 full months surveyed, there were 183 incidents. That’s just over five incidents per month, or about one incident every six days.
Handguns were the most popular firearm stolen. Since 2012, 191 handguns have been stolen (65.6 percent). Shotguns were the next most popular, with 47 stolen — 16.1 percent of the total. There were 28 rifles stolen, 9.6 percent. The remainder of the stolen firearms — 25 guns, or 8.6 percent — were not known because owners couldn’t provide sufficient information to police or the police records didn’t include sufficient information to determine the type of gun stolen.
In three cases, six or more guns were stolen at a time. The most guns stolen at one time were nine in a burglary in the 1700 block of North 19th Street on Nov. 20, 2013.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/12/robert-farago/stolen-guns-data-reveals-background-checks-security-theater/