Publications & Sites 
Stop ‘straw buyers’ of guns
Updated: September 24, 2012 12:10PM
For years Chicago and Cook County officials have been pushing a law that would help close the spigot of guns flowing illegally into the city.
So far, the National Rifle Association has blocked the law in Springfield, but officials here should keep pushing.
The so-called “lost or stolen” law would require gun owners to report a lost or stolen gun within 72 hours of noticing it is missing. It would help discourage “straw buyers” who purchase numerous guns legally in the suburbs and then sell them to felons in Chicago.
Straw buyers often say their weapons were lost or stolen when guns are traced back to them after a crime. A law requiring the reporting of lost or stolen guns would protect legitimate gun-owners, but discourage straw purchases.
