Submitted by Eric, Jul 17, 2007 16:31

Mayor Bloomberg is disingenuous, to put it kindly. The Tiahrt Amendment does not affect law enforcement one bit. In fact, the legislation specifically says that BATFE gun trace data will be shared with legitimate law enforcement agencies conducting bona fide criminal investigations. The Tiahrt Amendment infuriates Mr. Bloomberg because it restricts use of BATFE gun trace data to law enforcement agencies only, thus prohibiting attorneys from using the data in civil lawsuits against firearms manufacturers, distributors, and retail dealers.

Virtually nobody is reporting the undistorted picture here. While every newspaper reports that the NRA supports the Tiahrt Amendment, seldom is it mentioned that the Fraternal Order of Police and the BATFE itself both support the amendment as well. Mayor Bloomberg and other gun-hating politicians want the data released so that armies of attorneys can go to work in civil courts across this country. Meanwhile, the BATFE says that release of gun trace data to parties outside of law enforcement would likely jeopardize the lives of undercover agents and/or federal informants. The Tiahrt Amendment should stay.

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