[Malum Prohibitum]

HR 5092

Bill to revise gun-show laws advances in House

BY PETER HARDIN
TIMES-DISPATCH WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

Sep 8, 2006

WASHINGTON -- A bill to revamp federal enforcement rules for gun dealers, born in part from complaints about heavy-handed tactics at Richmond gun shows, is headed to the House floor.

The House Judiciary Committee approved the bipartisan bill by voice vote yesterday, and a spokesman for the House majority leader said it could come up for a House vote as early as next week.

Backers said it would strengthen enforcement by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives while critics contended it would gut the agency's powers.

A pair of lawmakers who are diametrically opposed on some issues joined forces on the bill: liberal Virginia Democrat Robert C. Scott, D-3rd, teamed with conservative North Carolina Republican Howard Coble to craft the bill and push it through.

With his action, Scott ended up on the same side as the National Rifle Association gun-rights lobby, while the gun-control group Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence blasted the legislation.

The bill would give ATF more tools to punish federally licensed gun dealers who break U.S. firearm sale rules. It would offer an intermediate set of new penalties -- including civil penalties or a license suspension -- that fall short of revoking a dealer's license.

Current law offers just written warnings and revocation of licenses to punish rogue dealers.

The bill also directs the inspector general for the Justice Department to review the ATF's gun show enforcement program.

Coble is chairman of the House subcommittee on crime, terrorism, and homeland security. Scott is the panel's senior Democrat.

Coble said the bill came about as a result of a subcommittee hearing where complaints were lodged against ATF for questionable law-enforcement practices at gun shows in the Richmond area.

"This gives ATF some flexibility, and as we heard during the hearing, the ATF used some heavy-handed tactics and they need to be reigned in," Coble said.

Scott, a Newport News resident whose district includes part of Richmond, said the bill was necessary to establish guidelines.

"This simplifies enforcement," Scott said in a recent interview. He added that "98 percent of the time you are not going to revoke a license for a technical offense" but the bill would let a firearms dealer be fined.

"I believe it will better ensure fairness, as well as accountability and ultimately will better ensure public safety," he said yesterday.

But critics asserted the bill would undermine or eviscerate ATF enforcement.

A top ATF official told Congress in February that federal agents made mistakes while searching for illegal firearm sales at the Richmond gun shows. Yet aggressive efforts there "have reduced violent crime," the official also said.

The bill had 137 co-sponsors yesterday, according to Coble. It is part of the American Values Agenda promoted by GOP leaders to reach out to their political base and win action on issues seen as important to conservatives.

From the Brady Bunch:

Days Before 9/11 Anniversary, Congressional Panel Moves to Gut Federal Oversight of Arms Sellers

From NY Mayor Bloomberg:

Today," said Bloomberg, "the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up three bills that would have the perverse effect of making it easier to conduct illegal gun trafficking, while at the same time handcuffing law enforcement officials by restricting access to 'trace data,' which is the information that tells us exactly where and when a gun was sold, and who bought it."

Trace data restrictions, he said, are included in -- H.R. 5005.

"One of the most important lessons our nation learned from 9/11," said Bloomberg, "is how critical it is for law enforcement agencies to share information. And yet one of the bills, H.R. 5005, would prevent -- and even criminalize --- the sharing of trace data.

"H.R. 5005 also prevents the federal government from moving records of gun sales from microfilm to a searchable electronic database," he continued. "In this day and age, when you have computers and cameras in cell phones, the only reason to leave information on microfilm is if you want to be certain that no one ever looks at it! It's ridiculous, but clearly that's the intention here."

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

http://www.nraila.org/CurrentLegislatio ... px?ID=2381
dated August 13th listing:

Your Action Is Required On The Following Federal Legislation

There are a number of other pro-gun bills pending in Congress that require your action. With the House out for its “Summer District Work Period,†your U.S. Representative will be back home in his or her respective district. Please contact your Representative’s district offices and urge your Representative to cosponsor and support these measures, and to bring these bills up as soon as possible when they return to Washington. You can also contact your Representative at (202) 225-3121. In addition, please call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, and urge them to cosponsor and support these measures. Additional contact information can be found using the “Write Your Representatives†feature at www.NRAILA.org.

• H.R. 5092-This bill would improve BATFE’s process for punishing the few FFLs who violate the law, and it would establish guidelines for BATFE investigations. This bill was drafted in large part to address recent BATFE abuses at Richmond, VA-area gun shows highlighted in hearings before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.

• H.R. 5005-This measure will codify congressional policies, roll back restrictions, and correct errors in federal firearm laws.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

HR 5092 - Passed the House.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

"House sycophants of the National Rifle Association are aiming this week to hobble the federal government's power to revoke the licenses of rogue gun dealers who arm the underworld. A shameless proposal would replace existing law with wrist-slapping penalties and an impossible definition of 'willful intent' that would hamstring efforts to close lawless marketeers."

"The rhetoric of the approaching debate will undoubtedly invoke sportsmen's rights, but the real issue is the rights of sociopaths and terrorists to make future purchases at their friendly local AK-47 dealer."

http://www.amhersttimes.com/index.php?o ... &Itemid=27

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

When does this end in our country? How many children and police officers must die before our elected members of Congress stop doing the bidding of the gun lobby?

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=73206

 

[Gunstar1]

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has frozen a bill that she says would gut federal agents' ability to shut down or severely penalize reckless gun dealers.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateoco ... ci_4416229

Any senator can place a "hold" on a bill to keep it from being offered on the floor without 60 senators' approval.