A glut of guns

Almost two-thirds of the illegal guns recovered by Boston police in 2004 had been in circulation for at least seven years since their original, legitimate retail sale, according to Anthony Braga, a researcher at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Braga, one of two dozen experts who participated in a daylong handgun violence summit at Northeastern University recently, cited straw purchases, theft, off-the-books gun dealing, gun shows, and flea markets as pathways for guns used in crimes. Last year, 341 people were shot, 51 fatally, in Boston neighborhoods where a gun seller found a willing buyer. And that carnage came about despite the seizure of roughly 800 guns by Boston police.

With so many ways to divert guns illegally, it is hard to know where to begin. Good answers are offered by Robert Ricker, a former lobbyist and attorney for gun makers and gun rights groups who is now a major critic of extreme elements of the gun lobby. Requiring background checks before any purchase at gun shows, says Ricker, would be the best route to disrupt the illicit trade. Massachusetts already requires checks for such sales, including those by private parties. But gun show rules are looser in New Hampshire and Maine, which explains why weapons from these states are cropping up in Boston.

Local and federal law enforcement officials in Boston can't do much to influence handgun policies in the Southern states, where about a third of the illegal guns found in Boston originate. But the increasing levels of regional cooperation required by homeland security concerns suggest that police departments and federal officials could join forces to close gun show loopholes across New England.

Ricker also backs laws to outlaw the purchase of more than one handgun in any 30-day period. Such laws would not affect sportsmen, but would greatly disrupt bulk purchases by straw buyers fronting for convicted criminals who are prohibited from buying from licensed dealers. Ricker also urges greater local scrutiny of the small minority of gun dealers whose products are traced to a disproportionately high number of crimes.

The underlying causes of gun violence in Boston are complex, and the solutions elusive. While authorities sort those out, it makes sense to attack the problem at the supply side.