Under the Gun

Help Close Bad Apple Gun Stores

Research shows that 5% of gun dealers have sold almost 90% of the traceable guns used in crimes.

As you saw in the film, a small but dangerous group of gun stores are responsible for almost 90% of traceable guns used in crimes, these stores are called Bad Apple Gun Stores. In fact, 86% of gun stores in the U.S. do not supply a single gun used in a crime in a given year! But bad apple gun stores put profit over safety and give a bad name to responsible gun stores and gun owners everywhere.

In the film, you see Chicago community members and leaders putting public pressure on one such bad apple gun store to be responsible or put out of business.

Follow Chicago’s example by taking action in your own community and talking with your elected officials about bad apple gun stores.


Send a message your elected officials, attend your next town council meeting, or reach out directly to your mayor’s office to schedule a meeting to talk about your community’s role in preventing gun violence.

Here are three small things that your local government or law enforcement officials can do that will make a BIG difference in keeping your community safe:

Require all gun dealers to be licensed at the municipal or state level and implement responsible practices like effective recordkeeping, employee background checks and limited high-volume sales.

Support responsible gun stores by purchasing firearms from local vendors that adhere to best practices.

Track, trace and release reports on the source of guns used in local crimes.

For more resources on what can be done on a city, state, and local level to stop bad apple gun dealers check out this comprehensive report by The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.