I thought this to be of interest, not all of it good news.
The U.S. Department of Justice released a report earlier this year titled
Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.. There are several interesting results but probably the most interesting is the result about where these prisoners got their guns. Keep in mind that the survey does not include criminals not in prison and that prison inmates may not be the most forthcoming.
- 25.3% obtained the gun from an individual (with subcategories). Gifts or purchases for the prisoner accounted for 10.8% of guns used.
- Only a total of 1.2% came from flea markets or gun shows.
- A whopping 43.2% came from the street or underground market. This doesn't include the 6.4% obtained directly by theft.
Table 5, page 7.
The low rate obtained from flea markets or gun shows cuts against the argument for stricter regulation at these places. It's not entirely clear, but I believe this only includes purchases from merchants since it is lumped into the retail sales section.
On the other hand, the fact that 1/4th of the guns were obtained from individuals is potential ammunition to more strictly regulate private transfers. There is no mention if the 10.8% purchased or given to prisoners were straw purchases. That would probably be hard to track in this sort of survey.
Still, the fact that half the guns were obtained directly by theft or from an underground market (probably stolen) is proof that gun bans won't work to prevent criminal use of firearms.