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Industry pressure hides gun traces, protects dealers from public scrutiny
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Oct 25, 2010 08:29am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Saturday, October 23, 2010 02:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By James V. Grimaldi and Sari Horwitz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, October 23, 2010; 11:58 PM
Under the law, investigators cannot reveal federal firearms tracing information that shows how often a dealer sells guns that end up seized in crimes. The law effectively shields retailers from lawsuits, academic study and public scrutiny. It also keeps the spotlight off the relationship between rogue gun dealers and the black market in firearms.
Such information used to be available under a simple Freedom of Information Act request. But seven years ago, under pressure from the gun lobby, Congress blacked out the information by passing the so-called Tiahrt amendment, named for Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.). The law removed from the public record a government database that traces guns recovered in crimes back to the dealers.
"It was extraordinary, and the most offensive thing you can think of," said Chuck Wexler, director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit group for police chiefs. "The tracing data, which is now secret, helped us see the big picture of where guns are coming from." |
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