After ATF Abuse, a New Bill in Congress Would Finally Give the Tiahrt Amendment Teeth

The Tiahrt amendment — AKA the Tiahrt “rider” — became law in 2003. Among other things, it prohibits ATF from releasing law firearm data to anyone outside of law enforcement. There’s only one problem with the Tiahrt amendment …it has no teeth. In other words, there’s no penalty for ATF violating the law, which they did as part of Biden’s war on guns.

When not proclaiming the gun industry an enemy of the people, semi-sentient Joe campaigned on repealing Tiahrt. Fortunately, he failed in that effort, but it didn’t stop his weaponized ATF from blithely ignoring the law and releasing trace data last year as part of a media and gun control industry effort to name and shame gun dealers that had lawfully sold guns used in crimes, smearing them as enabling “gun violence.”

Now, however, there’s an effort afoot in Congress to give anti-gun un-elected bureaucrats pause before violating the Tiahrt amendment. Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana has introduced a bill that would fine violators, enable gun dealers to sue them as well, and remove sovereign immunity from the firearm regulatory agency if they decide to ignore the law again in the future.

The NSSF is cheering on the move . . .

NSSF, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, welcomes U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins’ (R-La.) introduction of H.R. 1698, the Law Enforcement Protection and Privacy Act, which will enhance safeguards for protected firearm trace data. This legislation is vital to ensuring firearm trace data, which is protected by federal law, remains safeguarded from misuse that threatens investigations and lives. The bill puts “teeth to the Tiahrt rider,” by providing accountability for individuals who purposefully and unlawfully release this sensitive law enforcement information that is reserved for use in law enforcement investigations.

“This legislation is long overdue and necessary to send a strong message that there will now be consequences for those who would unlawfully disclose law enforcement sensitive firearm trace data that jeopardizes ongoing criminal investigations and puts the lives of law enforcement officers, undercover agents and witnesses at risk,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “It will prevent the unauthorized release of trace data by ATF and others to gun control groups and agenda-driven media outlets who have misused the data to launch ‘name-and-shame’ attacks to smear the reputation of law-abiding members of the firearm industry. We thank Congressman Clay Higgins for his leadership in protecting the integrity of ongoing criminal investigations and the lives of law enforcement officers and witnesses including licensed retailers and their reputations in their communities.”

The Law Enforcement Protection and Privacy Act:

• • Makes clear that the contents of National Trace Center is not subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
  • Establishes penalties for the unauthorized release of firearm trace data up to $10,000 for first violation per disclosure of an individual record and $25,000 for any other violations. It would also result in loss of access to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Tracing Center (NTC) Firearm Tracing System (FTS) for one year for those who fail to comply with the law.
  • Provides federal firearms licensees (FFLs) a private right of action against a Federal agency or a local, tribal or foreign entity if data concerning them is unlawfully released, and if the FFL prevails the FFL would be awarded the greater of triple the amount of damages suffered or $25,000 for each discloser of information, punitive damages as the court allows and attorney’s fee and court costs.
  • Removes sovereign immunity as a defense to actions to enforce violations of the law.

The Tiahrt amendment prohibits the release of firearm trace data to anyone other than law enforcement or prosecutors investigating a crime. Currently, there are no penalties for when individuals or agencies ignore this law and release this data to advance a political gun control agenda. While ATF could, under memorandum of understanding, disallow access to the data by those who violate the agreement, ATF has never enforced that provision.

Unfortunately, this protected data has been abused, including by the ATF under the Biden administration, in “name-and-shame” efforts to malign firearm retailers, despite ATF’s longstanding admonition noting  that trace data “in no way suggests that either the federal firearms licensed dealer (FFL) or the first purchaser has committed criminal acts.”

When a firearm is recovered at a crime scene or criminal arrest, a police department may forward information to the ATF to track the chain of custody of a firearm through the licensed distribution system to the original retail purchaser. The ATF then sends back the information to the reporting agency so they can use it in a criminal case, if warranted. ATF also uses the data in support of illegal firearms trafficking investigations.

Public release of gun trace data outside law enforcement would jeopardize ongoing criminal investigations, putting the lives of law enforcement, witnesses and others at risk. This is why Congress, the ATF and law enforcement, including the nation’s largest police organization, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), agree on the importance of securing this sensitive data. Access to gun trace data should only be available to law enforcement taking part in a bona-fide investigation, and law enforcement already has the access it needs for this purpose. No law enforcement agency has ever been denied access to trace data as part of a criminal investigation.