Schumer and Kennedy Move to Register
Law-Abiding Gun Owners
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"...Anti-gun extremists have been attempting
for weeks to invoke the specter of terrorists acquiring firearms as
justification for their attempts to end traditional American gun shows..." |
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Exploiting the media frenzy over terrorism, U.S. Senators Charles
Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) have introduced S. 1788,
legislation that seeks to eviscerate the federal law that prohibits
creation of a national firearms registry. Their legislation would make
National Instant Check System (NICS) records-records on gun purchasers
who have cleared the criminal record check-available to "any federal,
state or local law enforcement agency in connection with a civil or
criminal law enforcement investigation." The anti-gun pair introduced a
virtually identical bill,
S. 1253, in July.
Kennedy and Schumer introduced their latest bill in response to
last
week's decision by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that reaffirmed that
the records generated by NICS that do not result in an individual being
denied the ability to purchase a firearm cannot be used for anything
other than what the Brady Act - which established NICS - allows. Current
federal law requires that all records of cleared purchases be destroyed,
and although the anti-gun Clinton-Reno DOJ determined it could keep such
records in an "audit log" for as long as six months, it also established
regulations that specifically prohibit using these records for anything
other than auditing NICS.
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"...the
gun-ban lobby formerly known as HCI actually suggested that the Attorney
General turn his back on enforcing the law..." |
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Attorney General John Ashcroft ruled earlier
this year that the original intent of the Brady Act's record destruction
requirement demanded more immediate action than the Clinton-Reno
six-month time frame, and he established regulations instructing that
destruction of the records must take place no later than 24 hours after
the purchase - a decision that resulted in bitter attacks in the media and
by anti-gun-rights organizations.
Currently, records of felons, fugitives, illegal aliens, drug users - all
persons whose possession or purchase of any firearms is a federal crime,
and who are blocked by NICS if they attempt to buy firearms - are
statutorily required to be kept indefinitely. Those records are always
available to law enforcement. Anti-gun extremists have been attempting
for weeks to invoke the specter of terrorists acquiring firearms as
justification for their attempts to end traditional American gun shows
(see NRA-ILA FAX Alerts
Vol. 8, No. 39,
Vol. 8, No. 46, &
Vol. 8, No. 48), and now they are
doing the same to promote their attempts to create the mechanism to
establish a registry of law-abiding gun purchasers.
NRA EVP LaPierre |
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre
called the Kennedy-Schumer
legislation "gun owner registration, plain and simple." He cautioned,
"Clearly, this will be the basis of a national firearms-owner computer
registry that would profile decent honest citizens, violate their
privacy, and provide a locator to assist Kennedy's and Schumer's vision
of ultimately banning private ownership of firearms. Of more immediate
danger are the 'civil' data sharing provisions in this legislation that
will make National Instant Check records on decent law-abiding people
available to trial lawyers."
EVP LaPierre went on to ask, "What if Chicago Mayor Daley or the
Attorney General in Massachusetts demanded custody of the entire NICS
audit log as part of a 'civil or criminal law enforcement
investigation?' You have to think about what a Janet Reno or any future
anti-gun-rights Attorney General would do with this power."
Although the Schumer-Kennedy legislation contains provisions for the
destruction of NICS audit log records after 90 days, destruction
wouldn't apply to records given to other federal, state or local
agencies as part of an ongoing civil or criminal probe. Once the
personal information is out of the hands of the feds, it could become
part of a permanent record elsewhere, perhaps with the
reckless city
suits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry.
The attacks on Ashcroft began immediately following his refusal to allow
the release of the names of tens of thousands of Americans who had
cleared extensive background checks for comparison with lists of the
individuals, mostly illegal aliens, who were in custody as part of the
government investigation of terrorism. While Ashcroft was simply doing
what the law required - protecting the rights of innocent persons - the
gun-ban lobby formerly known as HCI actually suggested that the Attorney
General turn his back on enforcing the law, and stated Ashcroft should
have willfully violated federal law to allow the privacy of law-abiding
citizens be invaded.
Even prior to the passage of the Brady Act, federal law specifically
forbids "that any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or
firearms transactions or dispositions be established," and when the
Brady Act was enacted, further restrictions were written into the law to
prevent federal agencies from retaining information on gun purchasers
cleared after a federal/state background check. In fact, other than a
unique number referencing a lawful firearms transaction, the law demands
that the system (NICS) "destroy all records of the system relating to
the person or the (firearms) transfer." But these facts are immaterial
to anti-gun extremists, and they and their supporters in the media have
launched a nationwide campaign attacking Ashcroft, both personally and
professionally, for his efforts to remain within the confines of the law
while working to fight terrorism.
NRA-ILA Executive Director James Jay Baker warns: "It is imperative that
NRA members and firearms owners counter the media hype and explain to
their friends and neighbors that this is not about denying law
enforcement any records that bear on criminals or terrorists and guns.
This is about preserving the privacy rights of decent innocent people."
NRA members and the rest of the pro-gun community must contact their
federal lawmakers to object to the passage of S. 1788, the
Kennedy-Schumer legislation that would turn NICS into a de facto
registration system for law-abiding gun purchasers. You can reach your
U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121, and your U.S. Senators at (202)
224-3121. You can also find additional contact information by using the
"Write Your Reps" tool at
www.NRAILA.org.
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