In the News

by John Diedrich

In the wake of a jury verdict against Badger Guns, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore is introducing a bill intended to increase oversight of gun stores that have sold guns connected to crime.

The Gun Dealer Accountability Act would allow an increase in gun store inspections, require dealers to conduct an annual inventory and give regulators more power to investigate so-called sham license changes.

Moore, a Democrat from Milwaukee, said the majority of gun dealers are responsible, but stores such as Badger Guns demand greater scrutiny.

The bill allows for more inspections and an inventory requirement for dealers who, in the previous two years, had 10 or more crime guns traced back to them or had a court find that the dealer transferred a firearm illegally.

"This legislation is narrow, fair and sensible on every level," Moore said.

Under current law, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can inspect gun dealers once each year without a federal court order, but it inspects only a fraction of stores because there aren't enough investigators. Congress also directed ATF that it cannot require stores to take an annual inventory.

Gun rights supporters have said there are enough laws to hold gun dealers accountable; ATF needs to better enforce those laws.

The bill also would give ATF more discretion when it comes to issuing a license, changing federal law from "shall issue" to "may issue" a license.

Moore said she inserted that language because of how the West Milwaukee gun operation went from being Badger Outdoors to Badger Guns.

In 2006, regulators from ATF recommended revoking Badger Outdoors' license, but no revocation was made.

The players then took on new roles and a new license was issued to Adam Allan, the son of former owner Walter Allan, creating what one federal official called a "clean slate," a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation found. The other owner of Badger Outdoors, Mick Beatovic, said he always planned to retire.

Earlier this month, a jury found Badger Guns and its owner negligent in the sale of a gun used to wound two Milwaukee police officers. It was the first such verdict since a federal law passed a decade ago granting broad immunity for dealers from such suits. The case will be appealed, and it will likely take years to resolve.

The jury did not find there was a conspiracy among the owners of Badger Guns and Badger Outdoors to defeat regulators and continue a business that counted on illegal gun sales.

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