HOUSTON – It’s no secret that purchasing a gun in Texas is not exactly difficult, nor is it illegal to own one; buying one for someone else, though, especially if they’re not supposed to have one, is a federal crime.
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That’s why representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), along with the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas, the Texas DPS, Houston Police, and local firearm retailers joined together to announce new awareness efforts to crack down on straw purchases.
Straw purchases are another word for buying a firearm illegally, often for someone who is prohibited from owning one. According to the ATF, this method is what’s fueling gun trafficking across state lines, and the penalties if caught result in someone serving up to 15 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
Through a joint campaign called “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy,” which is currently in its 25th year, law enforcement officials are launching billboards around Houston and dozens of social media advertisements to drive home that straw purchases have grave consequences.
“It’s a robust effort that will deliver more than 46 million gross media impressions once it’s completed in mid-June, that includes an outdoor campaign with 45 billboards posted along the highways, strategically placed on high-traffic areas, and wells to transit shelters in some of the busiest areas in and around Houston,” Mark Oliva, Managing Director for Public Affairs at NSSF said during the news conference.
“Lastly, there will be a social media display component, and there’ll be more than 2.5 million ‘Don’t Lie’ advertisements on Facebook and Instagram, as well as geofence mobile display ads in and around the Houston area.”
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While it’s unclear how severe straw purchases have become in Houston, ATF Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel noted in many instances how guns used in violent crimes were ultimately obtained through straw purchases.
“Recently, we had an investigation in the Houston area,” he explained. “We had two individuals that were learned to be straw purchasing firearms. They were interdicted, found to be in possession of 10 firearms that were intended to be traveled south to a foreign country. And so as part of that investigation, we learned that they had already purchased and sent approximately 40 firearms to that country."
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The crime goes beyond trafficking, as well, though, which is why the ATF and other law enforcement agencies are counting on local gun store owners, especially, to assist in these efforts to combat gun violence.
“It’s violence that plagues our neighborhoods, and so this is a way for us to get out and work with our industry members, with our licensees, our FFLs [Federal Firearms Licenses] to deter these actions,” Weddel noted. “We know that we need to support our retailers, we need to support law enforcement, and we know that we have to make sure that we’re doing our part to prevent fires from getting into the hands of those people who should never have them in the first place.”
Learn more about the Don’t Lie campaign by visiting their website.