A new database in Ohio is available that will help stop the sale of stolen guns in the state. This database will help those who had their guns stolen get them back and stop those who do not know they are buying a stolen gun find a better option. More from The Columbus Dispatch:
People who buy and sell firearms in Ohio can now search through a statewide database to see whether the gun for sale was stolen.
The Ohio Stolen Guns Database contains the serial numbers of stolen guns “as reported to the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS) by law enforcement agencies throughout the state and authorized for release to the public.”
It’s the brainchild of Ohio Attorney General David Yost and a group of firearms dealers who wanted an easier way to determine whether a gun was stolen.
“Once you log on and put the serial number in and once the database exists you’ll be able to just get an answer back – hot or not,” Yost told NBC 4 in January.
There are concerns that this database may be misused but as of now it only tracks the serial numbers of guns that have already been stolen. The serial numbers are added to the database when a police report is filed over a stolen gun, this database appears to only help hinder the moving of stolen goods.
