Mayor Rallies Behind Bill Opposed by Gun Lobby
A Democratic senator from New Jersey, Robert Menendez, introduced a bill late last night that would strike the Tiahrt amendment, a piece of gun legislation staunchly opposed by Mayor Bloomberg's anti-gun coalition.
The introduction of the bill, called the Firearms Information Use Act of 2008, is prompting lobbyists for the gun industry to once again fight to protect the amendment.
"Of course the NRA opposes the bill. We feel like the Tiahrt amendment is there for a reason and Congress intended that trace information be available for law enforcement in bonafide criminal investigations," a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, Rachel Parsons, said."
Named after Rep. Todd Tiahrt, a Republican of Kansas, the law was introduced in 2003. It restricts municipalities from viewing firearm trace data kept by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, a constraint that supporters say prevents politicians from filing frivolous civil lawsuits against gun dealers.
Mayor Bloomberg, who contends that the amendment restricts law enforcement personnel from getting data that could help them shut down crooked gun dealers, today applauded the new bill and the lawmakers backing it, a group that includes Mr. Menendez, who introduced the bill, and senators Clinton and Schumer, who have both supported similar legislation in the past.
"This bill would erase the soft-on-crime Tiahrt restrictions from federal law," Mr. Bloomberg said in an emailed statement. "This bill is exactly what criminals are afraid of: police officers with better information and leads."
Lawmakers and lobbyists that back the Tiahrt Amendment say it not only stops politicians and activists from filing frivolous lawsuits against gun dealers, but also protects the identities of members of law enforcement.
"Public release of gun trace data jeopardizes criminal investigations and places the lives of law enforcement officers, witnesses and others at risk," the director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Ted Novin, said. "It is unfortunate that the sponsors of this legislation are willing to play politics with the lives of law enforcement."
Along with Mr. Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has advocated for eliminating the Tiahrt amendment.
