VPC Recommendations for Securing Firearms and Ammunition During Disasters

As another potentially devastating hurricane barrels toward the U.S., the VPC offers a series of recommendations to ensure that large inventories of guns and ammunition held by local Federal Firearms License (FFL) holders are secure in order to prevent the gun violence that marred rescue and recovery efforts in New Orleans in the wake of Katrina.

"Emergency officials who prepared Louisiana's plan for responding to a major hurricane never guessed that one of their duties would be to protect aid workers from gunmen, one of the state's senior disaster officials said Monday....

No disaster planner, he said, predicted that people would loot gun stores after the storm and shoot at police, rescue officials and helicopters."

"Disaster official at NY symposium: Planners didn't anticipate gun problem after Katrina," Associated Press, September 12, 2005

To prevent the gun violence that wreaked havoc on rescue and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Violence Policy Center offers a series of policy recommendations to ensure that firearms and ammunition in the control of the nation's 60,000 Federal Firearms License holders (FFLs) is secured against theft and looting in the event of an emergency situation.

Implement Minimum Safety and Security Standards for Gun Stores and Pawn Shops

Under current law, gun dealers are under no obligation to ensure that their inventories of firearms and ammunition are securely stored, not even in the event of an emergency evacuation or disaster area declaration. The lack of secure storage requirements virtually guarantees the likelihood that firearms and ammunition will be looted in the wake of a major natural disaster, riot, or terrorist attack.

Congress should require the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to implement permanent, minimum safety and security standards for windows, doors, storage areas, containers, safes, alarms, etc. in all licensed gun stores, pawn shops and other retailers that sell firearms, e.g. Walmarts.

Institute Special Security Rules for Emergencies

Permanent security requirements should be augmented with additional safeguards to be activated in the event of an emergency. For example, a requirement that large retailers temporarily turn their firearm and ammunition inventories over to local law enforcement authorities or remove them from the area in the event of a mandatory evacuation order would prevent a recurrence of the situation that transpired in New Orleans where looters emptied the gun department of the local Walmart and plundered gun stores.

Notify Law Enforcement Agencies of Inventories of Especially Lethal Firearms and Ammunition

In the event of a terrorist attack, riot, or severe storm like Katrina, local law enforcement should have specific information regarding which gun dealers have in their inventories firearms that pose a particular threat to public safety. Dealers who sell machine guns, assault weapons, 50 caliber anti-armor sniper rifles, or armor-piercing ammunition should be required to submit information on the make, model, and number of such weapons in their inventories to local law enforcement agencies on a regular basis.

Tighten Reporting Requirements for Stolen and Missing Firearms

Current federal law requires FFLs to report to law enforcement authorities the theft or loss of a firearm within 48 hours of discovery of the loss. This weak standard allows dealers to use virtually any reason as an excuse for failure to "discover" that a gun is missing. This requirement should be strengthened to shorten the elapsed time to 24 hours and require that the report be made when a firearm is "discovered or should have been discovered" to be missing.

Establish Enhanced Penalties for Using a Firearm to Impede Emergency Operations

Individuals who fire at emergency and rescue personnel who are engaged in rescue and recovery operations should be subject to enhanced jail sentences.