Murkowski bill boosts penalties for ‘smash-and-grab’ from gun dealers

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski and 20 Republican Senate colleagues, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, have introduced the Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2021 to address a rapid increase in the number of “smash-and-grab” thefts targeted at federally licensed gun dealers.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says there has been a 43 percent increase in the number of these smash-and-grab burglaries.

Also, while the number of robberies, as opposed to burglaries, at gun shops has dropped, the number of firearms taken during robberies increased by 53 percent. In 2020, 6,269 firearms were taken in nationwide FFL burglaries and robberies.

Read: Dozens of guns stolen during smash-and-grab at Granny’s Guns in Anchorage

The FFL Protection Act of 2021:

·       Increases the statutory maximum penalty for knowingly stealing any firearm in an FFL’s business inventory from 10 to 20 years.

·       Imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 3 years for burglary from an FFL and 5 years for robbery from an FFL.

·       Criminalizes the attempted theft of a firearm from a licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector.

The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Mike Braun (R-Indiana), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), James Risch (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama).

16 COMMENTS

  1. Certainly Senator Dan has been working on this bill as well and the Dean of the House and soon introduce a companion bill in the House with 100’ed of co sponsors as well..??

  2. LOL. Murkowski at her most ineffective. Maybe prosecute the laws on the books?
    The queen of carbon dioxide emissions.
    Case dismissed.
    Next….

  3. I wholeheartedly support the statutory requirement for stiffer penalties for all manner of burglaries and robberies where firearms are used or stolen. All such dangerous criminals must go to prison, and for lengthy terms – five years, minimum – no parole. The problems that I do have, however, are that:
    1. such crimes belong in state statutes and courts, and not in federal statutes, except for instances when the stolen firearms are transported across a state border (Article 10, Bill of Rights), and
    2. state prosecutors and trial judges will often permit the plea-bargaining of felony crimes, thus muting the effectiveness of lengthier and mandatory prison sentences. Until plea bargaining is ended, we will always have more to fear from criminals than criminals have to fear of facing justice.

  4. Why not stiffer penalties for all robbers?? Retailers nationwide are at the mercy of shop lifters, rioters, and smash & grab criminals…….

  5. Makes no difference so long as spineless prosecutors refuse to press charges because they are too busy persecuting law abiding citizens for minor infractions. Existing laws need enforcing. If congress is serious, pass a law forcing prosecutors to do such. I won’t hold my breath.

  6. Increasing penalties to deter crime has a long history of failure.
    For example, in eighteenth century England pickpockets were publicly executed in front of large crowds while other pickpockets worked the crowd.
    Obviously the harshest of punishments didn’t deter the criminals and mostly because a rational criminal doesn’t think he or she will be caught.
    Murkowski either is ignorant of the most basic theories of criminality or she’s just putting out grandstanding proposals to work her own crowd.
    Either way she thinks you’re all just as ignorant as she likely is.
    Maybe she should concentrate on following the constitution and trying to be fiscally prudent with our public funds.
    Not likely to happen though because saying no to the crowds who are demanding that the government fund their lifestyles and pay for their mistakes isn’t popular and might get her strung up (figuratively speaking, of course).

  7. I agree with the action, but for Lisa this is just a political move – to shore up her “conservative” bonafides by displaying for all to see that she actually agrees with Alaska on this topic..

  8. Too bad…..Murkie did not do this….the act was introduced by Senator Leahy and is a Stop the Trafficing of Firearms Act. Shucks…has Commie Murkie gone kookie? Yes, as always committing fraud and lying about her doings in the Senate. She isn’t protecting you and I, she just wants to be noticed and hoping there is some real stupid people out there that will get in the thinking that she is not a real bad failure of a Senator so keep throwing your votes away on an idiot like Commie Murkie. Remember, she is from Alaska. Whoopie do!!

  9. What we need is increased penalties for those who commit Treason by Certifying Stolen Elections. Murkowski, Sullivan and the Dean of the House belong in Gitmo for Life.

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