House Says No To Money For Multi-Rifle Reporting

Yesterday evening, the House of Representatives voted in favor of an amendment offered by Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK) to HR. 1, Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 . The amendment read:

An amendment numbered 566 printed in the Congressional Record to prohibit the use of funds to be used to require a person licensed under section 923 of title 18, United States Code, to report information to the Department of Justice regarding the sale of multiple rifles or shotguns to the same person.

A person licensed under 18 USC 923 is a FFL. The vote to adopt the above amendment originally passed on a voice vote. However, Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) requested a recorded vote so as to put people on record about this issue. I am happy to see that Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC11) voted for the amendment as did the other NRA endorsed Democrats from North Carolina - Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell.

As discussed elsewhere, the ATF's move to require reporting of the multiple sales of semi-auto rifles in a caliber larger than .22 with a detachable magazine has stirred quite a bit of controversy. Using a broad-based demand letter approach is an overt attempt to skirt the provisions and intent of the Gun Control Act of 1968.

Here is the NRA's release on the subject:

U.S. House Votes to Block Unauthorized Record Keeping on Gun Owners

Friday, February 18, 2011

Fairfax, Va. – The U.S. House has voted for an amendment to H.R. 1 offered by Reps. Denny Rehberg and Dan Boren that prohibits the use of federal funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting scheme proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). The measure passed the chamber (277-149) with broad bipartisan support.

“The reluctance of the Calderon and Obama administrations to face reality and pursue real solutions is costing the lives of law enforcement and civilians on both sides of the border,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director for the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action. “NRA has always and will continue to support any law enforcement initiative that targets criminals. Any proposal that only burdens law-aiding gun owners and retailers – as this proposal does – is a non-starter with the NRA. To put it very simply, if someone is breaking the law, go after them full bore. If they aren't, leave them alone.”

The BATFE is demanding the authority to require all of the 8,500 firearm dealers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to report all sales of two or more semiautomatic rifles within five consecutive business days, if the rifles are larger than .22 caliber and use detachable magazines. Yet, under existing law, the bureau has full access to every record of every firearm transaction by every licensed dealer, whether during a bona fide criminal investigation or simply to enforce compliance with record keeping requirements. This reporting scheme would create a registry of owners of many of today’s most popular rifles – firearms owned by millions of Americans for self-defense, hunting and other lawful purposes.

“On behalf of the tens of millions of law-abiding gun owners in America, I would like to thank Reps. Rehberg and Boren for their leadership on this important issue,” concluded Cox. “Every congressman who voted for this measure seeks real solutions to this tragic and violent problem that continues to escalate. In these trying times, limited resources should not be squandered on programs that will do nothing to address the heinous crimes occurring along our border.”