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Lautenberg Introduces Bill to Build Federal Database of Gun Sales
Lautenberg claims the Bill is needed to Preserve Gun Records Critical to Law Enforcement, Terrorism Prevention. His press release follows below…
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New Jesery

WASHINGTON, DC –-(AmmoLand.com)- Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today introduced the PROTECT Act, legislation to preserve records of gun sales for longer periods of time to aid law enforcement officials in preventing gun crimes and terrorist acts. Under current law, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) must destroy these records in most cases within 24 hours of allowing a gun sale to proceed.

“It makes no sense to immediately destroy information linking a gun purchase to its buyer and seller,” said Sen. Lautenberg. “We are too often asking law enforcement to protect our communities with one hand tied behind their back. Preserving background check information would help law enforcement do its job and keep our families safe from criminals and terrorists. We must overturn the ill-conceived 24-hour destruction policy so we can successfully combat gun violence and terrorism in America.”

The Brady Law requires federally-licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) before they sell guns. The NICS system creates an audit log of the purchase during the course of the search. A rider that has been attached to appropriations bills each year since 2004 mandates that the FBI destroy this audit log within 24 hours of allowing the gun sale to proceed.

The 24-hour destruction requirement hinders the FBI’s ability to verify that gun dealers are conducting background checks properly and to retrieve guns from those who are prohibited from having them. In 2002 – prior to the 24-hour rule – the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that over a six-month period the FBI used retained records to initiate 235 actions to retrieve illegally possessed guns, 228 (97 percent) of which would not have been possible under a 24-hour destruction policy.

Records are also destroyed when known and suspected terrorists purchase firearms, since nothing in current federal law prohibits them from purchasing guns. The FBI’s current practice is to keep background check records for these purchases for 90 days. If, at the end of the 90-day period, the FBI still has not found any other disqualifying reason to prohibit the purchase under current federal law, all records related to the purchase are destroyed.

At the request of Sen. Lautenberg, the GAO released a report earlier this year finding that from February 2004 through February 2009 there were 963 cases in which a known or suspected terrorist identified in federal terrorist watch list records attempted to buy a gun or explosives. In 90 percent of these cases — a total of 865 different times — the known or suspected terrorist was cleared to buy a firearm or explosive. Last week, Attorney General (AG) Holder announced his support for a separate Lautenberg bill, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Criminal Act of 2009, which would give the Department of Justice discretion to deny a gun purchase to someone on the terrorist watch list.

Sen. Lautenberg’s legislation, the Preserving Records of Terrorist & Criminal Transactions (PROTECT) Act of 2009, would:

• require the FBI to retain for 10 years all records related to a NICS transaction involving a valid match to federal terrorist watch list records; and
• repeal the requirement that other background check records be destroyed after 24 hours, and instead require that the records of all non-terrorist transactions be maintained for 180 days.

When asked about the 24-hour destruction rule at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in April 2007, FBI Director Robert Mueller said, “[T]here is a substantial argument in my mind for retaining records for a substantial period of time.” Video of Director Mueller’s remarks can be found here.

Last week, Tom Kean, former Republican governor of New Jersey and Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, and Mayor Bloomberg of New York City wrote an op-ed opposing the 24-hour destruction of gun records and the inability of law enforcement to block gun sales to terror suspects.

The measure is cosponsored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Carl Levin (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Sen. Lautenberg is a long-time advocate for responsible gun safety measures. He has also introduced legislation to close a loophole that allows guns to be sold at gun shows without a background check. And Sen. Lautenberg is the author of the domestic violence gun ban, which has successfully kept more than 170,000 guns away from domestic abusers.

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Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Members Sign 2nd Amendment Court Brief

Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Caucus Vice-Chair Sen. Jon Tester, along with CSC House Vice-Chair Rep. Mike Ross, and Rep. Mark Souder, joined together with 58 Senators and 251 House members in filing a bipartisan, bicameral amicus curiae brief asking the Supreme Court to hold the Second Amendment applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment in the case McDonald v. City of Chicago.

“The Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus really stepped up to the plate in further protecting our Second Amendment rights by working across party lines in filing this landmark brief,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation President Jeff Crane.

The McDonald v. City of Chicago case will decide whether the Second Amendment is a fundamental individual right that applies to states in the same way the Supreme Court found that it applied to the Federal government in last year’s District of Columbia v. Heller decision.

“Working together, we’re making our gun rights in this country stronger,” said Sen. Tester. “This isn’t about partisan politics. It’s about the rights all law-abiding Americans have under our Constitution, and those rights are always worth fighting for.”

CSC Senate Co-Chairs, Sen. Ben Nelson and Sen. Mike Crapo, and CSC House Co-Chairs Rep. Dan Boren and Rep. Paul Ryan led an effort to urge fellow members of the Congressional Sportsman’s Caucus to sign on to the brief.

“As an avid hunter, I believe the government has a limited role in regulating the ownership of guns,” said Nelson.

Last year, members of the Caucus joined in the filing a similar amicus brief in the District of Columbia v. Heller case in support of the Court upholding the Second Amendment as a fundamental, individual right.

“Banning guns will not keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but it will keep guns out of the hands of those trying to defend themselves against criminals,” said Rep. Ross. “The Supreme Court’s recent decision in District of Columbia v. Heller affirmed the right of D.C. residents to own and bear arms and I am optimistic these same rights will be extended to the law abiding citizens of Chicago and across the United States in McDonald v. the City of Chicago.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in February 2010.

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We can have the best wildlife habitat imaginable and a record number of people who buy fishing and hunting licenses, but it won’t matter if misguided laws and regulations are made at the federal and state levels that negatively impact our outdoor traditions. Keeping sportsmen’s issues front and center is what the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation does. Day in and day out, our sole focus is on providing a voice for sportsmen in the political arena. Serving as the first line of defense in protecting America’s outdoor traditions as well as promoting the sportsmen’s agenda through the collective muscle of sportsmen’s caucuses. Visit: www.sportsmenslink.org

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