Blocking the Enforcement of Our Nation's Gun Safety Laws

WASHINGTON -- In a speech to the Economic Club of Detroit in May 1999, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., committed to speak on the issue of gun crimes each week that the Senate is in session. This is the 162nd week he has continued to live up to his pledge; his remarks follow:

Mr. President, the House-passed version of the Commerce, Justice and State Departments Appropriations Bill included provisions that, if adopted, would severely hamper efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) to enforce our nation's gun safety laws.

Under current law, dealers are required to notify the BATFE of the sale of two or more handguns to the same person within five business days. The House-passed provisions would prohibit the public release of information related to multiple handgun sales. The House language would also prohibit the release of information related to tracing requests on guns used in crimes. Eliminating the public availability of this data would make it more difficult to monitor the activities of reckless gun dealers.

In addition, the House-passed language would prohibit the BATFE from issuing a rule requiring Federal Firearm Licensees to take a physical inventory of their firearms. A physical inventory recently revealed that a Tacoma, WA, gun dealer could not account for the sniper rifle used by the Washington, D.C. area sniper and more than 200 other guns . The House language would have required the immediate destruction of records of approved firearms purchases and transfers generated by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The retention of these records has assisted law enforcement officials trying to prevent guns from getting into the hands of criminals and identifying gun trafficking patterns.

The House-passed provisions were never the subject of hearings and are not supported by any major law enforcement organizations. They could shield reckless and negligent gun dealers from public scrutiny and weaken the BATFE's oversight and enforcement authority. They should not be adopted by the Senate.