NEW DATA: 31 Mayors Against Illegal Guns Cities Release New Analysis on Manufacturers of Crime Guns

Glock #1 Crime Gun in Cities Surveyed, Recovered 1.5 Times More Than Any Other Crime Gun; Data Shows Significant Spike in Ghost Guns Recovered at Crime Scenes

NEW YORK — Today, 31 members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a nonpartisan coalition of current and former mayors that is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released new data about the manufacturers of recovered crime guns in their cities. According to the data provided by the cities, the top manufacturer in the data provided was Glock in 19 of the cities. In fact, according to data provided by the participating cities, on average, more than 1.5 times more Glocks were recovered than the second leading source of crime guns. In 2021, four gun manufacturers accounted for over half of the recovered crime guns: Glock (21.1%), Smith & Wesson (13.5%), Taurus (13.0%), and Ruger (7.0%). A full list of cities is available below.

“Mayors are on the frontlines of our nation’s gun violence epidemic and that’s why we won’t shy away from naming those who make the guns that are killing our communities,” said Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas, Co-Chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. “As the gun industry gathers in Las Vegas this week to profit and party, Mayors are leading the charge in showing the public exactly who makes money off the crime guns on our streets.”

“To stop gun crime, we can’t just focus on the criminals — we also need to shine a light on irresponsible gun makers who are turning a blind eye to their role in fueling America’s gun violence crisis,” said Nick Suplina, Senior Vice President of Law & Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety.  “I applaud these Mayors for having the guts to stand up to the gun lobby, and hold accountable companies that are putting profit ahead of public safety.”

Making the public aware of which companies are responsible for creating and profiting off the firearms that end up in crime scenes is a key part in holding the firearms industry accountable. Across the data provided by the 31 cities, Glock, Smith & Wesson, Taurus, and Ruger accounted for over 27,000 recovered crime guns in 2021. Additionally, the data shows that recoveries of ghost guns nearly tripled from 2020 to 2021 and Polymer80, the largest producer of ghost gun parts and kits, was the fifth-largest producer of crime guns in the cities surveyed in 2021.

There are several steps gun manufacturers could take to prevent diversion of their products to the criminal market. These include establishing a dealer code of conduct to ensure that retailers who sell their firearms adhere to basic guidelines, better monitoring their supply chains to detect dealers breaking the law, and stopping all work with dealers who sell guns in circumstances where guns may be sold without a background check, including gun shows and online marketplaces.

Click here to read the new data analysis released today, including breakdowns by city. 

The full list of the cities participating in this crime gun data collection is below, with the bolded cities indicating those contributing data for the first time. 

• Allentown, PA
• Baltimore, MD
• Buffalo, NY
• Cambridge, MA
• Chattanooga, TN
• Chicago, IL
• Cleveland, OH
• Dayton, OH
• Evanston, IL
• Kansas City, MO
• Little Rock, AR
• Los Angeles, CA
• Louisville, KY
• Madison, WI
• Miami-Dade, FL
• Miramar, FL
• Montgomery, AL
• Mount Vernon, NY
• Nashville, TN
• New York, NY
• Newark, NJ
• Philadelphia, PA
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Rockville, MD
• San Leandro, CA
• San Rafael, CA
• Savannah, GA
• St. Louis, MO
• Syracuse, NY
• Tampa, FL
• Washington, D.C