Report: Weapons Sold Without Checks By LAURA MYERS .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands of old Army rifles have been sold to civilians in the past few years without required criminal background and U.S. citizenship checks, according to congressional investigators. Two lawmakers who asked for the audit of the longtime Civilian Marksmanship Program, which has been run by a private group since 1996, pledged Tuesday to introduce legislation requiring greater oversight. ``Who knows whose hands wound up on those triggers?'' Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D- N.Y., said in a statement released Tuesday. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said he was appalled by the findings of the General Accounting Office. ``The GAO investigation showed that privatization meant the end of Army controls on gun buyers, so even felons could purchase M-1 rifles,'' he said. A 1996 law handed over administration of old Army rifle and pistol sales to a private group created by the legislation, the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety. The program, designed to promote and monitor marksmanship training through affiliated gun clubs, had been in existence since 1903, with the Army selling old firearms instead of destroying them. The 1996 law required the corporation to make sure buyers were U.S. citizens and didn't have felony records. The old Army rifles were to be sold only to club members or clubs as well. But the GAO audit found the corporation had not routinely conducted such background checks. After a review of 6,400 M-1 rifle sales between July 1997 and August 1998, the GAO estimated the corporation sold 1,200 to 2,200 of the World War II-era semiautomatics without checks, or 19 percent to 34 percent. In response to the audit, the corporation said it has improved scrutiny of buyers by sending applicants' names through the Justice Department's national instant background check system. The corporation, based at Fort Clinton, Ohio, also promised to audit sales each year to ensure criminal background checks are conducted and that guns go to only its club members and U.S. citizens. ``The report is focused on yesterday's deficiencies,'' said Charles Maddox, chairman of the corporation's board of directors. The GAO didn't say there was evidence that the Army firearms were used to commit any crimes. Nonetheless, Sen. Lautenberg and Rep. Maloney said the law needs to be changed to require such audits. The lawmakers also are considering requiring a government agency -- perhaps the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms -- to provide oversight. Returning the program to the Army is not under consideration, a spokesman for Maloney said. Derek Stewart, assistant GAO director who worked on the January report, said the 1996 law excluded the program from ATF scrutiny since the corporation was supposed to conduct its own checks on buyers. ``There were examples where the corporation followed the law, but, as the audit shows, we found quite a few times when it didn't,'' he said. The GAO recommended the corporation audit its firearms sales and that Congress amend the law to require such action. Overall, the Army has transferred more than 56,000 firearms to the corporation, including M-1 Garands, M-1 Carbines, M-14s, .22-caliber rifles and pistols, according to the GAO. As of Sept. 30, the Army had in storage another 230,000 M-1s, 35,000 .22-caliber rifles and more than 4,000 other firearms that the corporation will receive. The corporation, in turn, sold 22,584 weapons from the Army stock in fiscal years 1997 and 1998 -- 16,339 of them M-1 rifles. The Army charges the corporation about $100 per weapon to handle costs such as storage and transportation, a GAO spokesman said. The corporation then sells the arms for $450 to $750 each.
