Senator Kim Introduces Legislation to Increase Transparency into Gun Records and Combat Gun Violence

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During Gun Violence Prevention Month, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced bicameral legislation to improve transparency and access to critical information that helps trace illegal gun trafficking and prevent gun violence in America. The Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act was also introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04).

“We need to use every tool at our disposal to combat gun violence tearing our communities apart, but right now we are cut off from seeing the full picture. This legislation would unlock critical data and make sure we can fully examine the flow of guns from the very start and take action before more lives are lost,” said Senator Kim.

“As lawmakers, we have a responsibility to keep our communities — and especially our children — safe,” said Congresswoman Dean. “We must use every tool at our disposal to curb the gun violence epidemic that has scarred every community in America. The Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act will strengthen ATF’s ability to monitor and enforce federal gun violence prevention laws and help us save lives. I’m thankful to Senator Andy Kim for his leadership in the Senate on this important bill.”

Federal law, known as the Tiahrt Amendments, currently prevents the release of critical information that could mitigate gun violence. Because gun records, tracing data, and other critical statistics are inaccessible to the public, it is inherently more difficult for law enforcement to solve gun crimes, stop gun trafficking, and for public health researchers to investigate the impacts of gun violence. According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, since their introduction, the Tiahrt Amendments have resulted in a dramatic increase in illicit gun trafficking.

Senator Kim and Congresswoman Dean’s legislation would repeal the Tiahrt Amendments and give law enforcement more tools to solve gun crime by expanding researchers’ access to critical information to help examine where guns used in crimes are originating from, whether restrictive gun laws limit the availability of illicit firearms, and how guns are trafficked between states with differing gun laws.

The Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act specifically would:

• Repeal provisions requiring all background check records to be destroyed within 24 hours.

• Eliminate the prohibition on processing of FOIA requests about firearm traces.

• Repeal limitations that prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) from requiring gun dealers to conduct annual inventory audits.
• Eliminate the prohibition on consolidation in the DOJ of firearms acquisition records maintained by federal firearms licensees.

The Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act is endorsed by the Center for American Progress, Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Giffords, and Moms Demand Action.

"To stop illegal gun trafficking and hold lawbreakers accountable, we need to know where the flow of guns starts,” said Nick Wilson, Senior Director of Public Safety at the Center for American Progress. “This much-needed bill would restore the records that help law enforcement solve gun-related crimes and keep our communities safe. We thank Senator Kim for his commitment to improving transparency and public safety.”

“For over two decades, the Tiahrt Amendments have been used to block gun industry accountability by shielding key tracing data of firearms used in crime – thereby hindering critical research, civil litigation, informed consumer decisions, and targeted public safety policies to decrease crime. The Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act will restore data transparency and contribute to the development of gun violence prevention solutions by repealing the Tiahrt Amendments. Brady is grateful to Senator Kim and Representative Dean for introducing this important bill and for their steadfast commitment to ending the gun violence epidemic,” said Mark Collins, Director of Federal Policy, Brady.