A Comparative Survey of Firearm Laws-Figure 1 Ovals show how firearm is used Bars show how firearm is transferred from one individual to another. Blue represents legal use. Orange represents illegal or violent use. How guns move from legal to illegal ownership. A gun lasts longer than most other consumer produts.
Federal law demands that only the first retrail sale be recorded.
After that, a gun may change hands many times without any documentation being required. This diagram gives examples of how a gun can move from legal to illegal ownership, sometimes being recycled through the legitimate market again. For law enforcement purposes, the record of the first retail buyer becomes virtually useless as soon as he or she transfers the gun to its second owner.