Friday, June 9, 2023
North-JerseyNews.com
  • Home
  • Washington
  • Trenton
  • County
  • Court
  • Roundup
  • Opinion
  • Search
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Washington
  • Trenton
  • County
  • Court
  • Roundup
  • Opinion
  • Search
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
North-JerseyNews.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Court

Rep. Bill Pascrell Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Allow Electronic Search of ATF Records

Jenn Waters by Jenn Waters
March 3, 2020
in Court, Washington Political Breaking News
0 0
0
North-JerseyNews.com
0
SHARES
5
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Time is of the essence when it comes to gun crimes. But law enforcement officials are currently hindered by a law preventing the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from conducting electronic searches of gun sales records already in the ATF’s possession.

The Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act, introduced by Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., along with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Rep. Peter King (R-NY), would give ATF agents the ability to electronically search for the records of guns used in crimes across the country.

“Americans would be appalled at the state of crime gun tracing in America today,” said Rep. Pascrell, the co-chair of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus. “Law enforcement in every state and town in America share one hard goal: solving crimes as expeditiously as possible to keep their communities safe.”

Narrow Change

This bipartisan legislation would provide a simple, narrow change in the law to allow the ATF to electronically search crime gun sales records already in its possession. The law would neither expand the universe of records the ATF is permitted to access, nor allow the ATF to search for information it already has access to.

Leahy described the current law as a public safety hazard, while King explained it will free up ATF resources.

Pascrell noted every moment after a crime is committed matters desperately to law enforcement.

“This simple but vital change will help prevent crime, it will save lives, and will create needed efficiency,” said Pascrell. “It is an absolute no-brainer and should be ratified into law this year.”

Tedious Process

Officials conducting investigations need to know who last owned the firearm. The ATF receive more than 1,600 crime gun trace requests each day from law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S.

The current process involves ATF agents sorting through paper sales records to re-create the chain of custody of the firearm. Conducting these manual searches cause delays in investigations and the apprehension of suspects.  The ATF is currently banned by law from digitizing millions of gun sales records already in their possession.

Digitizing gun sale records would free up ATF resources, as well as eliminate the risk of impeding investigations that are delayed by the wait for gun search records.

It is anticipated that the ATF will receive more than 100 million gun sales records in 2020, and the agency is simply running out of storage space. The ATF has been instructed to not store any more physical records in National Tracing Center in Martinsburg, WV, the only federal facility that maintains gun sales records in the U.S. This facility is in danger of a partial floor collapse.

Privacy

While the act will create an electronic, searchable records database, it also has protections to ensure the privacy rights of responsible, law abiding, firearm owners. The legislation will allow ATF searches for criminal and national security investigations only and for no other purpose.

The legislation is endorsed by numerous law enforcement groups and public safety advocates, including the Major Cities Chiefs Association, Major County Sheriffs Association, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and March for Our Lives.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Tags: Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and ExplosivesATFbipartisan legislationCongressional Law Enforcement CaucusCrime Gun Tracing Modernization ActDigitizing gun sale recordsGun SalesMajor Cities Chiefs AssociationMajor County Sheriffs AssociationMarch for Our LivesNorth JerseyRep. Bill PascrellRep. Peter KingSen. Patrick Leahythe Association of Prosecuting Attorneysthe Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association
Previous Post

Funding Approved for Hinchliffe Stadium Renewal Project in Paterson

Next Post

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce Wants Money to Fight HABs in Lake Communities

Next Post
above abstract background desert

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce Wants Money to Fight HABs in Lake Communities

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

support-Local

Recent Post

North-JerseyNews.com

Air Quality Warning Due to Candiann Fires to Remain Until Friday in North Jersey

by James Hickey
June 8, 2023
0

North-JerseyNews.com

Assemblyman Space: Proposed Mileage Tax Eroded Freedom and Privacy

by Nathan Resso
June 8, 2023
3

North-JerseyNews.com

Poor Air Quality Closes Schools: North-JerseyNews.com Roundup for June 8, 2023

by North-JerseyNews.com
June 8, 2023
1

Popular

North-JerseyNews.com

Air Quality Warning Due to Candiann Fires to Remain Until Friday in North Jersey

by James Hickey
2023/06/08
0

North-JerseyNews.com

Assemblyman Space: Proposed Mileage Tax Eroded Freedom and Privacy

by Nathan Resso
2023/06/08
3

North-JerseyNews.com

Poor Air Quality Closes Schools: North-JerseyNews.com Roundup for June 8, 2023

by North-JerseyNews.com
2023/06/08
1

Subscribe now

Join 100,000+ other subscribers

[ctct form="12911" show_title="false"]
ss-tp
States Where Abortion is Banned (1)

North-JerseyNews.com

When it comes to breaking news North Jersey, North Jersey local news or live news North Jersey, We all look for a reliable source that can give us authentic North Jersey news or local Jersey news.

© Copyright 2021 North-JerseyNews.com

Design and Developed By MOZWEBMEDIA

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Washington
  • Trenton
  • County
  • Court
  • Roundup
  • Opinion
  • Search
  • Donation

© Copyright 2021 North-JerseyNews.com
Design and Developed By MOZWEBMEDIA

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Finance-Currency-Financial-World-Dollar-Funds-634901

Add Your Heading Text Here

Pop-up Design 1 (1)

%d bloggers like this: