A Parkville gun store that was closed by federal agents in 2006 remains the biggest single source of guns used in Baltimore crimes, according to a draft of testimony that Mayor Sheila Dixon plans to give before a congressional task force in Washington today.
According to the testimony, 142 of the thousands of guns used in city crimes in the past two years were originally purchased at Valley Gun Shop. Those guns were sold before the store's owner, Sanford M. Abrams, lost his federal and state licenses to sell firearms commercially, said Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for Dixon.
But Dixon and experts on crime say it is troubling that guns sold before 2006 are still turning up in city crimes and that one dealer can have such a disproportionate impact.
The mayor is scheduled to testify today in Washington before the Congressional Task Force on Illegal Guns, a new ad hoc congressional panel, part of a broader push for national rules that would limit criminals' access to weapons.
Dixon appeared yesterday with New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and others at the first national summit of the Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
At the conference, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest firearms seller, announced that it would store video of gun purchases and create an internal log of numbers of guns that it sells that turn up at crime scenes.
The coalition, which is largely funded by Bloomberg's fortune, is also launching a television ad campaign that features all three presidential candidates voicing support for tougher background checks at gun shows. Dixon is one of three mayors to appear in the ad.
Dixon's testimony today will focus on the so-called "fire sale" loophole, a provision that allows gun dealers like Abrams to sell off their inventory after being notified by authorities that their licenses will be revoked.
"It is very clear that Valley Gun fits in line with the law we want to have in terms of closing a loophole," Dixon said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Abrams could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Norman B. King, did not return phone calls left for him. The National Rifle Association declined to comment.
Federal authorities revoked Abrams' license to sell weapons after agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found that he had recorded more than 900 violations of regulations designed to help police track guns in crimes.
