The Campaign to Stop A Common Form of Gun Trafficking

ATF’s and the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s efforts to educate the public include ads across radio, television, and social media platforms, as well as campaign posters, flyers, and roadside billboards.  

The bureau targets its efforts in major city areas where there have been many illegal straw purchases. Between 2023-2025, ATF and the National Shooting Sports Foundation launched campaigns in 18 cities across the country—most of which were in the South and Southwest. ATF is also planning to launch at least six campaigns this fiscal year. The most recent were in San Antonio and St. Louis in July. There was also a campaign in Memphis in May.  

Congress approved $1 million to be spent on this effort each year from Fiscal Years 2023 through 2027. Funding is provided under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022—a law that, among other things, expanded background check requirements and increased the criminal penalties for straw purchases.  

But when we looked at the Don’t Lie for the Other Guy campaign, we found more could be done to ensure it is meeting its goals. 

ATF has three broad goals for the Don’t Lie for the Other Guy campaign:  

• To increase awareness that straw purchases are illegal 

• To increase awareness of the penalties for straw purchases, which could include 15 years in prison and as much as a $250,000 fine 

• And to give the public ways to provide tips and key information on suspicious or criminal activities 

ATF is collecting some information to better understand whether its campaign is meeting those three goals. For example, the bureau collects information on the number of tips it receives from the public about possible straw purchase violations. And ATF collects data on its outreach efforts—for example, number of impressions on social media posts, website views, and clicks.  

But the bureau hasn’t used these metrics to fully assess whether its outreach is helping it meet its goals. This means that ATF doesn’t know whether its online advertisements (for example) are helping to increase public awareness and reduce straw purchases.  

Having performance goals and assessing outreach efforts against them would help ATF understand whether its outreach efforts are working. It would also help ATF understand the best way to use its funding and reallocate resources to the best performing outreach efforts. In our new report, we made recommendations that ATF take these steps. 

Have a tip? If you know of or suspect a possible straw purchase of a firearm, you can report it anonymously in a few ways.  

• Visit ATF’s tip website here 

• Call toll-free at 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477) 

• Email ATF at ATFTips@atf.gov 

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