New York City sues 12 more out-of-state gun dealers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City sued 12 more out-of-state gun dealers in federal court on Thursday for what officials called a pattern of illegally selling guns that end up being used for crimes in the city.

The dealers come from Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia -- the same states that were home to 15 dealers sued by the city in May.

More than 300 New Yorkers were killed by illegal guns last year, with nearly all of the guns coming from out of state, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has made the campaign against illegal guns a centerpiece of his second term in office.

Some 300 guns used in New York City crimes were traced to the 12 dealers named in Thursday's suit, and nearly 20 came from one store in Toccoa, Georgia, he said.

"This is about law enforcement, plain and simple, and it's about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals," Bloomberg said. "It's like one percent of the dealers that are really the bad guys."

Of the 15 dealers sued in May, six have settled with the city and will have their operations overseen by a court-appointed special master.

The lawsuits aim to stop dealers from allowing "straw purchases," in which one person shops for a gun and then has someone else fill out the required federal forms to pass a background check.

Straw purchasers from New York typically travel out of state by bus, buy five or 10 guns, return to New York and then sell them for twice or three times what they paid, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

New York caught some dealers by hiring undercover private detectives with hidden cameras to carry out straw purchases.

Bloomberg's campaign in May came as he was speaking out on other national issues such as immigration and stem cell research, fueling speculation he might consider running for president in 2008 as an independent.

Bloomberg, a longtime Democrat who became a Republican before running for mayor in 2001, has said he won't run.