Yea but they didnt have serial numbers in the 1700's! Right. Good argument. Not.
False pretense. Just about nobody made their own guns until AR lowers became a thing and then shortly after Glock clone frames appeared.That's not the argument at all. Never has been. A straw man.
First..... there were no serial numbers required by law on firearms MANUFACTURED FOR SALE until 1968.
The bolded part above is key. There has NEVER been any federal legal requirement for serialization of PRIVATELY made firearms for PERSONAL use.... EVER, in the history of the USA. And guess what... there STILL isn't.... except in a handful of the usual suspect states. And in those tyrannical states, my serialized factory guns are illegal, too. Almost all of them. Go figure.
You're kidding, right???? LOL! Fallacy of misleading vividness.Just about nobody made their own guns until AR lowers became a thing and then shortly after Glock clone frames appeared.
Hilarious. Yes... they RUN traces. They run traces on guns used in crimes... of course. It's routine... SOP. They're not running traces on guns lawfully owned and used. How may crimes have been SOLVED because of a trace?? Data please. What percentage of traces lead to a conviction (that otherwise would NOT have been solved) based on the trace? I'll wait. Scratch that... you won't be able to provide any answer to that. And I already know that there is no such data. Gosh, I wonder why? You would THINK that the dot-gov, politicians, media, and activists would want to have that proof on hand, which would solidify the justification for serialization of firearms... RIGHT?? Ah, but they don't have it, because the numbers would be effectively and statistically ZERO.Tracing guns used in crimes doesnt work? Also bullshit. It doesn't answer all the questions or prove precisely how many times a gun changed hands, but there isnt a detective or DA in the US who says this is of no use at all in law enforcement. Law enforcement run thousands of traces every year. The ATF reported 460,000 guns used in crimes were traced in 2021.
Nobody claims gun tracing solves crimes. It's a tool used in an investigation. Anybody who is or was even remotely connected to law enforcement agrees with this. 460,000 guns traced because it's worthless? Investigators follow the evidence. Sometimes it leads someplace, sometimes it doesn't. Just saying fuck it... this doesn't always help so let's not bother is ridiculous. That's like giving up on a murder case because they can't find the body.You're kidding, right???? LOL! Ummm.... yeah.... that's not true at all. It certainly got more popular when those things happened. But hobbyists have been making their own guns for a VERY long time. And there is ample proof of that. There have been online groups like the Weapons Guild since 2001, as just one example. I don't know if you've been on that forum, but the majority of them are true builders.... machining their own parts. They're not buying kits. Polymer80 wasn't established until 12 years later in 2013. And if you go on that forum, you'll find precious few threads about P80s. They are not part of that "guild's" repertoire.
Fallacy of misleading vividness.
Hilarious. Yes... they RUN traces. They run traces on guns used in crimes... of course. They're not running traces on guns lawfully owned and used. How may crimes have been SOLVED because of a trace?? Data please. What percentage of traces lead to a conviction (that otherwise would NOT have been solved) based on the trace? I'll wait. Scratch that... you won't be able to provide any answer to that. And I already know that there is no such data. Gosh, I wonder why? You would THINK that the dot-gov, politicians, media, and activists would want to have that proof on hand, which would solidify the justification for serialization of firearms... RIGHT?? Ah, but they don't have it, because the numbers would be effectively and statistically ZERO.
So I asked Grok the same question for the hell of it:
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There is no direct data from the provided sources or available information that specifically states the percentage of gun traces leading to convictions that would not have been solved without the trace. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and other sources provide extensive information on gun tracing, but they do not quantify the exact impact of traces on convictions in cases that would otherwise remain unsolved.
Here’s what is known:
The lack of precise data could stem from the complexity of criminal investigations, where traces are one of many factors (e.g., ballistic evidence, witness testimony, DNA) contributing to convictions. The ATF’s restrictions on releasing detailed trace data (due to the Tiahrt Amendment) further limit comprehensive analysis.
- ATF’s National Tracing Center (NTC) traces firearms to provide investigative leads, identifying the first retail purchaser or potential traffickers, which can link suspects to crimes. However, a trace itself does not confirm criminal activity by the purchaser; it provides investigative leads.
- From 2017 to 2021, the ATF traced 79% of crime guns back to their purchaser in 2021, up from 75% in 2017, showing improved tracing success.
- Traces can lead to identifying suspects, traffickers, or patterns (e.g., 27% of traced guns from 2017–2021 were recovered in a different state from their original sale), but no specific conviction rates tied exclusively to traces are reported.
- Ballistic identification and microstamping can link cartridge cases to specific firearms, aiding investigations, but their direct contribution to convictions in otherwise unsolvable cases is not quantified.
- Clearance rates for gun crimes (e.g., 57.8% for murder/manslaughter in 2023) indicate arrests or exceptional clearances, but these figures don’t isolate the role of gun traces or confirm cases that would otherwise be unsolvable.
- In Chicago, only 5–11% of nonfatal shootings result in arrests, suggesting low clearance rates, but there’s no specific data on how traces influence these outcomes.
Conclusion: No specific percentage is available for gun traces leading to convictions in cases that would otherwise remain unsolved. Traces are valuable for generating leads, but their direct impact on convictions is not isolated in the data. For further insight, you could explore ATF’s annual trace reports or contact their National Tracing Center for more detailed studies, though public access to such specifics may be restricted.
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The only thing a trace does is establish the provenance up to the last time an FFL sold the gun. It has absolutely no legal weight in terms of convicting anyone of a crime. The legal bar is much higher than a mere purchase record. That doesn't even count as circumstantial evidence. It's nothing more than a provenance.
If traces resulted in crimes solved and convictions, there would be a TROVE of such data. Yet, there is quite literally no such data.... and for good reason.
Seriously?a federal gun registry is not legal. It's a very common belief it exists. If there is one, how is it this has been kept a secret?
BINGO!If you're fine with that, what other Constitutional rights are you willing to give up in order to make solving crimes easier?
You and I will have to agree to disagree. Furthermore, into the late 1800's as well, likely moreso than in the late 1700's. "Lock, stock, and barrel". Bought and or ordered through the general store in Anytown USA in various places.For example: Colonists making their own guns? Bullshit.
My 1st firearm purchase was a 7mm mauser from the Sears and Roebuck catalog for about $30.Bought and or ordered through the general store in Anytown USA in various places.
I remember browsing through the gun section of the Sears catalog.My 1st firearm purchase was a 7mm mauser from the Sears and Roebuck catalog for about $30.
Same here. Even took my 22 for show n tell. Try that todayMy school parking lot had plenty of pickups with guns in the window racks.
Without this, anti-gun scum would be doxxing every gun owner in the country from the safety of their keyboards...
Maybe, but it does indicate trends such as a number of straw purchases from specific FFLs for example...Nobody claims gun tracing solves crimes. It's a tool used in an investigation.
The realistic skeptic that I am firmly believes Nobama, Holdherdick et al and Bidet, Garlicdick et al started/continued an electronic list of gunowners by digitizing 4473s. One has to wonder "Is it paranoia or foresight?"Besides being a textbook example of projection with a dash of paranoia, a federal gun registry is not legal. It's a very common belief it exists. If there is one, how is it this has been kept a secret?
See comment above...Of course there is no FEDERAL database. We all know that no FEDERAL database exists on any FEDERAL servers. That would be illegal.
My 1st firearm purchase was a 7mm mauser from the Sears and Roebuck catalog for about $30.
Those were different times... buying a gun from Sears or Monkey Wards. Sadly, they will never return. The cheap surplus Carcano allegedly used to kill JFK was mail order. That contributed materially to the demand for tighter controls on gun purchases. Which conveniently brings us back to the OP. When the gunless public sees jerkoffs on social media acting like children or retards doing mag dumps with bump stocks and blowing up refrigerators with Tannerite, they get the idea in their head that gun people are all nuts. Which they are not. But perception is reality.Without this, anti-gun scum would be doxxing every gun owner in the country from the safety of their keyboards...
Maybe, but it does indicate trends such as a number of straw purchases from specific FFLs for example...
The realistic skeptic that I am firmly believes Nobama, Holdherdick et al and Bidet, Garlicdick et al started/continued an electronic list of gunowners by digitizing 4473s. One has to wonder "Is it paranoia or foresight?"Conspiracy theorists are at 100% correct the past decade or so...
See comment above...
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Lock stock and barrel is a 19 century metaphor. A figure of speech. Like 'the whole nine yards'. It in no way described buying gun parts and assembling them. It always meant, figuratively, you wanted it all. Like telling a car salesman you'll take the car - and the tires too.You and I will have to agree to disagree. Furthermore, into the late 1800's as well, likely moreso than in the late 1700's. "Lock, stock, and barrel". Bought and or ordered through the general store in Anytown USA in various places.
It's not about giving up anything. It's about imagining boogeymen that don't exist. You cant be serious that gunmakers have no reason to keep track of their products other than some nefarious, covert government conspiracy that lives in your head. If you believe that, you don't know jack shit about modern manufacturing. Everything today is traceable down to the component level. Food products, vehicles and aircraft, building materials, drugs, and just about everything made today are either serialized or categorized in lot numbers. So are the Doritos you think we should give people on welfare for free. Is it Uncle Sam behind that, or is it simply a reality of modern manufacturing and quality control. I already know the answer to that question.Seriously?
Is it naivety or pure intellectual dishonesty?
Of course there is no FEDERAL database. We all know that no FEDERAL database exists on any FEDERAL servers. That would be illegal.
So let's just require everyone that sells guns to get a FEDERAL license that requires them to create their own database and then make it available to the FEDERAL government whenever they ask for it.
There is no reasonable argument that serial numbers Prevent crime, only the false argument that they help solve crimes. If you're fine with that, what other Constitutional rights are you willing to give up in order to make solving crimes easier?
If a gunmaker wants to serialize and keep track of their product, that is fine with me. I can decide whether to do business with that manufacturer or not.You cant be serious that gunmakers have no reason to keep track of their products other than some nefarious, covert government conspiracy that lives in your head. I