At a Sept. 20 symposium hosted by Enough Gun Violence/Brady Greater Fresno (EGV/BGF), experts and advocates raised alarm over law enforcement firearm procurement practices and their potential link to gun violence in Fresno.
Greg Fidell, senior manager for Brady California’s Initiative on Combating Crime Guns, presented findings from a Brady report revealing that between 2015 and 2021, California law enforcement agencies spent more than $20 million at two gun stores with documented histories of violating federal firearms laws. One of those stores supplies firearms to the Fresno Police Department (FPD).
“This raises serious concerns about the use of taxpayer dollars to support dealers who have repeatedly violated ATF regulations,” Fidell stated. He cited examples of unethical practices, including failure to conduct background checks, straw purchases and inaccurate inventory tracking.
Fidell called for a Fresno ordinance that would require the FPD to vet gun dealers before purchasing firearms. He proposed that dealers with serious violations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) or the California Department of Justice (DOJ) be barred from selling to the City for several years. Similar ordinances have already been enacted in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and San Francisco.
Due to the Tiahrt Amendment of 2003, which restricts public access to federal firearm trace data, Fidell emphasized the importance of California’s DOJ inspections. In 2022, legislation was passed requiring the DOJ to begin inspecting gun dealers starting in 2024.
The California 2025 Trace Report evaluates the sources and kinds of crime guns being used in the commission of crimes in California. A crime gun is a gun recovered by law enforcement that is suspected of having been involved in a crime, or is possessed by someone not allowed to have a gun.
Fidell outlined some key data from the 2025 report:
- For 2020–2024, the California DOJ inspected 736 firearms dealers and recorded 41,602 violations; 85% of those violations were resolved.
- The average number of violations per firearms dealer was 51.87, and the median number was 18.
- In 2024, there were 46,996 crime guns recovered in California, including 1,109 crime guns recovered in Fresno—the fourth highest of any city in California.
- Fewer than 30% of crime guns recovered in California came from California gun dealers. Seventy percent came from other states, mostly Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Utah—states with fewer and much weaker gun regulations than California.
Also speaking at the event was Refujio “Cuco” Rodriguez of the Hope and Heal Fund, who presented gun violence mapping data for Fresno County based on Census records.
Among the attendees were Aaron Foster of Advance Peace Fresno and Marcel Celblock Woodruff, a violence interruption expert, as well as representatives from the offices of Fresno City Council members Nick Richardson, Tyler Maxwell and Nelson Esparza.
The symposium was part of ongoing educational events hosted by EGV/BGF to raise public awareness about gun violence, law enforcement procurement practices and the role of City tax dollars in supporting unethical gun dealers.
