It has been a long time goal of gun control groups to establish a gun registry. They seek to have lists of who owns guns, what guns they own, and how much ammunition you purchase. These two bills would make that a reality; HR6006 and S3348 Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act of 2020. These identical House and Senate bills would allow government entities to monitor your gun buying activities under the guise of crime prevention.
HR6006
House Resolution 6006 was introduced February 27, 2020. The primary sponsor is Representative Bill Pascrell who represents New Jersey’s 9th District. The bill is currently with the House’s Judiciary Committee.
HR6006 currently has two cosponsors: Representative Peter King from New York’s 2nd District and Christopher Smith from New Jersey’s 4th District. We often assume that supporters of gun control are Democrats, so it is interesting to note that both cosponsors are Republicans. It serves as a good reminder to not make assumptions about positions based on party affiliation.
According to the Congressional Research Service the bill’s purpose is “to amend section 923 of title 18, United States Code, to require an electronic, searchable database of the importation, production, shipment, receipt, sale, or other disposition of firearms.”. It also states that “this bill requires the National Tracing Center within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to establish and maintain an electronic, searchable database of records related to certain firearms transactions.”.
S3348
Senate Bill 3348 is the sister bill of HR6006, introduced simultaneously on February 27, 2020. Sponsoring it is Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont. As of this writing there are no cosponsors for the Senate version of the bill. S3348 is with the Senate’s Judiciary Committee with an identical summary as HR6006.
What the Legislation Does
What exactly would this legislation do if it were signed into law by the President? In the simplest terms, it would create a nationwide gun registry. Some finer details include:
- Making information on Form 4473 electronically searchable
- Eliminating the current federal ban on compiling a searchable gun registry
- Allowing the federal government to access and search gun owner information from state and local governments
Why You Should Care
The information provided on Form 4473 is not currently electronically searchable. The form contains a large amount of personally identifiable information, and the transaction number of your NICS background check. Form 4473 also includes the make, model, and serial number of the weapon you are purchasing.
The ATF and law enforcement can request to view or obtain a copy of Form 4473, but only as part of a criminal investigation. ATF can also view the forms when conducting a compliance check on FFLs. Another set of bills, introduced around the same time, would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment. Combined, these laws would make your information available to ATF and other government entities in an easily searchable format at anytime.
This law is a gun control advocate’s wet dream. Once anti-gun entities have identified who owns guns and what kinds of guns, confiscation becomes a much easier process. This bill having bipartisan support is reason enough to reach out to the members of both Judiciary committees, and your own legislators. Let them know that you do not support HR6006 and S3348. If you need help getting started check out our article on Second Amendment Advocacy.
You can follow the progress of each bill here:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6006
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3348
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