For the past seven years, federal law has severely limited the tracing of gun sales by merchants, keeping researchers and the public in the dark over unscrupulous stores that sell to criminals. President Barack Obama vowed during the 2008 campaign to get this prohibition repealed, but so far he has only fought for a modest expansion of gun tracing for law-enforcement purposes only.

 

Under the Tiahrt Amendment adopted in 2003, Americans cannot access information in a federal database that tracks guns recovered in crimes. This change “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,” wrote The Washington Post.

 

Instead of pushing for the repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment, President Obama convinced Congress to change the law so that gun-tracing information can be shared with state and local law enforcement agencies.

 

The public, media and academic researchers still cannot obtain the tracing information.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Leaderless and Under Pressure, Firearms Agency Keeps Gun Tracing Records Secret (by Marian Wang, ProPublica)

Industry Pressure Hides Gun Traces, Protects Dealers from Public Scrutiny (by James V. Grimaldi and Sari Horwitz, Washington Post)

The Tiahrt Amendments (Mayors Against illegal Guns)