Reports from U.S. Attorneys in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington are shedding light on a genuine truth which seems to either elude gun prohibition lobbying groups in both Northwest states, or is simply ignored.

Gun control laws do not prevent criminals from getting their hands on firearms.

The Alliance for a Safe Oregon recently published an “analysis” of crime-gun sources in the Beaver State, saying Oregon gun dealers are the “primary source” of firearms recovered at crime scenes or during investigations, but it appears the group has its sights set on the wrong target.

The Portland Oregonian/Oregon Live noted in its coverage of the problem last month, “ATF spokesperson Jason Chudy declined to comment Wednesday. An ATF report says the primary source of stolen guns is theft from private residents’ vehicles, homes and persons. ‘A substantially smaller number of firearms are stolen from federal firearms licensees (FFLs) and from carriers during shipment,’ according to the bureau.”

In its report, the Oregon Alliance acknowledges the activities of certain individuals who have trafficked legally purchased firearms to members of street gangs. The same report identified one individual who “bought and smuggled nearly 150 high-powered assault rifles to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Mexico.” This man “recruited straw purchasers to buy the rifles at gun stores in the Portland and Salem areas.” He subsequently obliterated serial numbers before turning them over to a courier headed to Mexico.

Another criminal, identified as Anthony Devalin Brant, Jr., now doing time in prison, was, according to the Safe Oregon report, “found with a stolen 9mm linked to two Portland shootings, which he acquired through this illegal market. According to The Oregonian, the federal case against Brant “was his fourth prosecution involving guns.”

Kevin Starrett at the Oregon Firearms Federation told Ammoland News via email the Oregon Alliance report “is being marketed to other Oregon ‘press’ organizations, so we know it’s the warm-up for more legislation. It is coming…But there is more.  I think it is safe to say the OSP (Oregon State Police) will be looking to have the laws changed so they can work less, meaning fewer hours, take longer and throw up a million new roadblocks. Look for that to come down the pike too.”

Starrett has been battling restrictive gun control in Oregon for decades.

Head north to Seattle, where the U.S. Attorney’s Office there has just successfully prosecuted Dion Jamar Cooper, a resident of suburban Kent, who reportedly managed the straw purchases of more than 130 firearms. He actually gave these guns to people who should not have them. At least 54 of the firearms he purchased have been recovered in connection to crimes including “two bank robberies, several carjackings and assaults; numerous drive-by shootings; numerous other shots-fired incidents; and at least one homicide,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a news release.

Early last year, federal agents watched as Cooper “made arrangements to purchase additional firearms.” The man who drove Cooper around to various gun shops was identified as De’ondreLamontia Phillips, a convicted felon prohibited by law from purchasing or possessing firearms.

Here’s an interesting passage from the US Attorney’s statement: “According to the ATF analysis, all of the… crime guns were recovered from persons who were legally prohibited from possessing firearms, either because they were convicted felons and/or were underage juveniles. This is not surprising, given the nature of straw purchasing offenses…. Notably, several of the recovered crime guns had very short “time-to-crime” periods (the amount of time between the firearm purchase and its recovery at a crime scene). These recovery periods included some as short as two days and others of six days, seven days, and eight days. This reflects that Cooper was purchasing firearms and turning them over to people who nearly immediately used them to commit violent crimes.”

According to Seattle’s KOMO News, an ABC affiliate, three armed men robbed a woman in Seattle’s Rainier Valley neighborhood in January 2023. One of them dropped a handgun in her car which was traced back to Cooper. ATF discovered during a check that Cooper had bought more than 100 firearms between June 2021 and April 2023.

Cooper will be spending three years in prison, while his pal Phillips has been sentenced to seven years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg called Cooper the “largest known straw purchaser of firearms in the history of the Western District of Washington….”

Yet, instead of acknowledging that existing gun laws ultimately resulted in putting these individuals behind bars—despite the fact the same laws didn’t prevent them from engaging in the illegal activity—gun control proponents want more laws on the books, which greatly inconvenience (make that “impair”) honest citizens from exercising their rights.

Points to ponder:

• Criminals don’t bother with background checks, because they couldn’t pass one. So, they rely on people like Cooper.
• Criminals don’t bother with waiting periods, which only affect law-abiding gun purchasers.
• Adding new laws which criminals will ignore simply exacerbates the problem for honest citizens, who are being penalized for the misbehavior of others.

As reported by Seattle’s KING5 News, the NBC affiliate, Cooper was arrested in April 2003. He was just sentenced, some 19 months later. Why does it take so long to bring these guys to trial? And one wonders if he will be prosecuted as an accessory to that homicide mentioned by the US Attorney.

One conclusion which seems irrefutable is that the Northwest gun prohibition lobby, since it hasn’t made a peep, is less concerned about gun traffickers than about making it as difficult as possible for law-abiding citizens buying firearms.

About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.