Tiahrt Amendment
The Tiahrt Amendment (/ˈtiːhɑːrt/ TEE-hart) is a provision of the U.S. Department of Justice 2003 appropriations bill that prohibits the National Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from releasing information from its firearms trace database to anyone other than a law enforcement agency or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation.[1] This precludes gun trace data from being used in academic research of gun use in crime.[1] Additionally, the law blocks any data legally released from being admissible in civil lawsuits against gun sellers or manufacturers.[1]
Some groups, including
History
The Tiahrt Amendment was first added by Todd Tiahrt (R-KS, after whom it is named) to the 2003 federal appropriations bill. It was signed into the law as part of this bill on February 20, 2003. It was subsequently broadened in October 2003 with the addition of two provisions banning the ATF from requiring gun dealers to inspect their firearm inventories and requiring the FBI to destroy background check data within 24 hours. In 2004, it was altered again, this time to limit access to gun trace data by government officials, and to ban the use of such data in firearms license revocations or civil lawsuits.[6]
In 2008, the language was altered further, to explicitly allow ATF to publish information about statistical trends in the manufacture, import, export, sales, and criminal use of firearms.[7]
ATF can also share some gun-trace data, individually or in bulk, with some law-enforcement agencies outside ATF.[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Grimaldi, James V.; Horwitz, Sari (October 24, 2010). "Industry pressure hides gun traces, protects dealers from public scrutiny". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ^ a b Knight, Heather (June 19, 2007). "Mayors Fight Gun Measure". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ^ United Against the Tiahrt Amendment, protectpolice.org
- ^ "Gun Bill Urges Congress To Repeal Tiahrt Amendment". ABC 10: KGTV San Diego. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ^ Canterbury, Chuck (16 April 2007). "Letter to Appropriations Subcommittee in support of Tiahrt Amendment". Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- PMID 22218834.
- ^ https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/RS22458.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Tiahrt Amendments".
Further reading
- "Tiahrt Amendments". Giffords Law Center. May 21, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- "The "Tiahrt Amendment" on Firearms Traces: Protecting Gun Owners' Privacy and Law Enforcement Safety". nraila.org. National Rifle Association of America Institute for Legislative Action. January 15, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2014.