Stolen Firearms in Missouri Are Linked to the Repeal of Its Permit-to-Purchase Law

By Eugenio Weigend Vargas

A new analysis from the Center for American Progress shows that the repeal of Missouri’s permit-to-purchase (PTP) law in 2007 is associated with an uptick in the annual number of stolen firearms. Drawing from FBI data on stolen and recovered property from 1994 to 2019—12 years before and after the removal of the PTP law, respectively—CAP found that the real annual average value of stolen firearms in Missouri increased from $3.1 million from 1994–2007 to $4.3 million from 2008–2019, a 38 percent increase. The original analysis adds to a growing body of evidence showing that the PTP repeal has led to increased gun homicides, gun suicides, and gun trafficking in Missouri.

Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, 2021. 7p.