IN RESPONSE:
Drs. Xu and Breitbart assert that firearm purchases across state lines should comply with federal and buyer state laws. We look forward to the day when laws are perfectly followed. The concern raised by our study is, of course, illegal activity. Indeed, previous research by 1 of the investigators documented illegal activity at Nevada gun shows and an association between inadequate regulation and illegal purchases (1).
We did not assess whether Californians purchased firearms at Nevada gun shows or whether those firearms resulted in injuries. However, firearm trafficking between Nevada and California is well-documented and fueled partly by gun shows. Nevada is the second-leading source of out-of-state firearms recovered at California crime scenes; 4073 such firearms were recovered between 2006 and 2013 (2). One investigation recorded that more than 30% of vehicles of Reno gun show attendees had California license plates (1). California and Nevada therefore engage in cross-border joint law enforcement efforts specifically targeting illegal firearm activity and gun shows ...