But what did you expect?
Congressional Record
BALLISTICS, LAW ASSISTANCE, SAFETY TECHNOLOGY ACT
October 10, 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sen. Kohl, (D) Wisc.
Mr. President, I rise today with my colleagues Senator Feinstein, Senator Schumer, and Senator Reed to introduce BLAST, the Ballistics, Law Assistance, and Safety Technology Act.
Never before have the tremendous law enforcement benefits of ballistics testing been so apparent. We have the technology to "fingerprint" every new gun, and if we were using it today, we would be well on our way toward stopping the serial killer who even now is preying on the residents of suburban Washington.
Every gun has a unique "fingerprint" - the distinct patterns left on spent casings and bullets after it is fired. What we need to do is create a comprehensive library of the ballistic images of all new guns sold in the U.S. as they come off the assembly line and a library of the images of all guns used in crimes. With those libraries in place, new technology would allow us to compare those gun prints with bullets found at crime scenes - bullets like those found from the Washington area sniper's gun.
By keeping a computerized image of each new gun's fingerprint, police can compare the microscopic differences in markings left by each gun until they find a match. Once a match is found, law enforcement can begin tracing that weapon from its original sale to the person who used it to commit the crime.
Police tell of solving multiple crimes simply by comparing bullets and shell casings found at the scene of a crime to a gun seized in a seemingly unrelated incident. Let me explain how ballistics testing works and how our measure is crucial to the fight against crime.
The only evidence at the scene of a recent brutal homicide in Milwaukee was 9 millimeter cartridge casings -- there were no other clues. But four months later, when a teenage male was arrested on an unrelated charge, he was found to be in possession of the firearm that had discharged those casings. Ballistics linked the two cases. Prosecutors successfully prosecuted three adult suspects for the homicide and convicted the teen in juvenile court.
On September 9, 2000, several suspects were arrested in Boston for the illegal possession of three handguns. Each of the guns was test fired, and the ballistics information was compared to evidence found at other crime scenes. The police quickly found that the three guns were used in the commission of 15 felonies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This routine arrest for illegal possession of firearms provided police with new leads in the investigation of 15 unsolved crimes. Without the ballistics testing, these crimes would not have been linked and might have never been solved.
Mr. President, since the early 1990's, more than 250 crime labs and law enforcement agencies in more than 40 states have been operating independent ballistics systems maintained by either the ATF or the FBI. Together, ATF's Integrated Ballistics Identification System (AIBIS) and the FBI's DRUGFIRE system have been responsible for linking 5,700 guns to two or more crimes where corroborating evidence was otherwise lacking.
While success stories are increasingly frequent, the potential of ballistics testing is still untapped. One way that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is making ballistics testing more accessible to state and local law enforcement is through the installation of a new network of ballistics imaging machines. The final introduction of the machines across the country is almost complete and, once it is, the computers will be able to access each other and search for a greater number of images. The National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, better know as "NIBIN," will permit law enforcement in one locality access to information stored in other gun crime databases around the entire country. This will help law enforcement exponentially in their efforts to solve gun crimes.
But ballistics testing is only as useful as the number of images in the database. Today, almost all jurisdictions are limited to images of bullets and cartridge casings that come from guns used in crimes. Our bill would dramatically expand the scope of that database by mandating that all guns manufactured or imported would be test fired before being placed into the stream of commerce. The images collected from the test firing would then be collected and accessible to law enforcement - and law enforcement only - for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting gun crimes.
As local, state and federal law enforcement authorities search for the deranged murderer who has been terrorizing the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, they are using ballistics testing to determine whether the bullets and shell casings found at the scene of each crime are from the same gun. They can then identify the gun, giving them a better idea of what - and who - they are looking for in their manhunt. Had the gun used in these crimes been subject to a test fire before being placed in the stream of commerce, authorities would be able to identify the gun based on the bullets and casings. With that information, law enforcement could then trace the sale and transfer of the firearm in an effort to identify the owner of the gun and solve the crime.
Today, police can find out more about a human being than they can about a gun used in a crime. Law enforcement can use DNA testing, take fingerprints and blood samples, search a person's health records, peruse bank records and credit card statements, obtain phone records and get a list of book purchases to link a suspect to a crime. Yet, the bullets found at the scene of a crime often cannot be traced back to the gun used because our ballistics images database is not comprehensive. We are unnecessarily limiting law enforcement's ability to track the criminals who have used guns in the commission of a crime. The BLAST bill will change all that. By making gun crimes easier to solve, all of us will be safer.
The burden on manufacturers is minimal -- we authorize funds to underwrite the cost of testing --and the assistance to law enforcement is considerable. And don't take my word for it, ask the gun manufacturers and the police. Listen to what Paul Januzzo, the vice-president of the gun manufacturer Glock, said in reference to ballistics testing, "our mantra has been that the issue is crime control, not gun control . . . it would be two-faced of us not to want this." In their agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Smith & Wesson agreed to perform ballistics testing on all new handguns. And Ben Wilson, the chief of the firearms section at ATF, emphasized the importance of ballistics testing as a investigative device, "This (ballistics) allows you literally to find a needle in a haystack."
To be sure, we are sensitive to the notion that law abiding hunters and sportsmen need to be protected from any misuse of the ballistics database by government. The BLAST bill explicitly prohibits ballistics information from being used for any purpose unless it is necessary for the investigation of a gun crime.
Mr. President, the BLAST bill will enhance a revolutionary new technology that helps solve crime. BLAST is a worthwhile piece of crime control legislation. I hope that the Senate will quickly move to pass it.
I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the legislation be printed at the conclusion of my remarks.
As far as I am concerned, Glock is breaking bread with the enemy in common cause against our rights.
Congressional Record
BALLISTICS, LAW ASSISTANCE, SAFETY TECHNOLOGY ACT
October 10, 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sen. Kohl, (D) Wisc.
Mr. President, I rise today with my colleagues Senator Feinstein, Senator Schumer, and Senator Reed to introduce BLAST, the Ballistics, Law Assistance, and Safety Technology Act.
Never before have the tremendous law enforcement benefits of ballistics testing been so apparent. We have the technology to "fingerprint" every new gun, and if we were using it today, we would be well on our way toward stopping the serial killer who even now is preying on the residents of suburban Washington.
Every gun has a unique "fingerprint" - the distinct patterns left on spent casings and bullets after it is fired. What we need to do is create a comprehensive library of the ballistic images of all new guns sold in the U.S. as they come off the assembly line and a library of the images of all guns used in crimes. With those libraries in place, new technology would allow us to compare those gun prints with bullets found at crime scenes - bullets like those found from the Washington area sniper's gun.
By keeping a computerized image of each new gun's fingerprint, police can compare the microscopic differences in markings left by each gun until they find a match. Once a match is found, law enforcement can begin tracing that weapon from its original sale to the person who used it to commit the crime.
Police tell of solving multiple crimes simply by comparing bullets and shell casings found at the scene of a crime to a gun seized in a seemingly unrelated incident. Let me explain how ballistics testing works and how our measure is crucial to the fight against crime.
The only evidence at the scene of a recent brutal homicide in Milwaukee was 9 millimeter cartridge casings -- there were no other clues. But four months later, when a teenage male was arrested on an unrelated charge, he was found to be in possession of the firearm that had discharged those casings. Ballistics linked the two cases. Prosecutors successfully prosecuted three adult suspects for the homicide and convicted the teen in juvenile court.
On September 9, 2000, several suspects were arrested in Boston for the illegal possession of three handguns. Each of the guns was test fired, and the ballistics information was compared to evidence found at other crime scenes. The police quickly found that the three guns were used in the commission of 15 felonies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This routine arrest for illegal possession of firearms provided police with new leads in the investigation of 15 unsolved crimes. Without the ballistics testing, these crimes would not have been linked and might have never been solved.
Mr. President, since the early 1990's, more than 250 crime labs and law enforcement agencies in more than 40 states have been operating independent ballistics systems maintained by either the ATF or the FBI. Together, ATF's Integrated Ballistics Identification System (AIBIS) and the FBI's DRUGFIRE system have been responsible for linking 5,700 guns to two or more crimes where corroborating evidence was otherwise lacking.
While success stories are increasingly frequent, the potential of ballistics testing is still untapped. One way that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is making ballistics testing more accessible to state and local law enforcement is through the installation of a new network of ballistics imaging machines. The final introduction of the machines across the country is almost complete and, once it is, the computers will be able to access each other and search for a greater number of images. The National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, better know as "NIBIN," will permit law enforcement in one locality access to information stored in other gun crime databases around the entire country. This will help law enforcement exponentially in their efforts to solve gun crimes.
But ballistics testing is only as useful as the number of images in the database. Today, almost all jurisdictions are limited to images of bullets and cartridge casings that come from guns used in crimes. Our bill would dramatically expand the scope of that database by mandating that all guns manufactured or imported would be test fired before being placed into the stream of commerce. The images collected from the test firing would then be collected and accessible to law enforcement - and law enforcement only - for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting gun crimes.
As local, state and federal law enforcement authorities search for the deranged murderer who has been terrorizing the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, they are using ballistics testing to determine whether the bullets and shell casings found at the scene of each crime are from the same gun. They can then identify the gun, giving them a better idea of what - and who - they are looking for in their manhunt. Had the gun used in these crimes been subject to a test fire before being placed in the stream of commerce, authorities would be able to identify the gun based on the bullets and casings. With that information, law enforcement could then trace the sale and transfer of the firearm in an effort to identify the owner of the gun and solve the crime.
Today, police can find out more about a human being than they can about a gun used in a crime. Law enforcement can use DNA testing, take fingerprints and blood samples, search a person's health records, peruse bank records and credit card statements, obtain phone records and get a list of book purchases to link a suspect to a crime. Yet, the bullets found at the scene of a crime often cannot be traced back to the gun used because our ballistics images database is not comprehensive. We are unnecessarily limiting law enforcement's ability to track the criminals who have used guns in the commission of a crime. The BLAST bill will change all that. By making gun crimes easier to solve, all of us will be safer.
The burden on manufacturers is minimal -- we authorize funds to underwrite the cost of testing --and the assistance to law enforcement is considerable. And don't take my word for it, ask the gun manufacturers and the police. Listen to what Paul Januzzo, the vice-president of the gun manufacturer Glock, said in reference to ballistics testing, "our mantra has been that the issue is crime control, not gun control . . . it would be two-faced of us not to want this." In their agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Smith & Wesson agreed to perform ballistics testing on all new handguns. And Ben Wilson, the chief of the firearms section at ATF, emphasized the importance of ballistics testing as a investigative device, "This (ballistics) allows you literally to find a needle in a haystack."
To be sure, we are sensitive to the notion that law abiding hunters and sportsmen need to be protected from any misuse of the ballistics database by government. The BLAST bill explicitly prohibits ballistics information from being used for any purpose unless it is necessary for the investigation of a gun crime.
Mr. President, the BLAST bill will enhance a revolutionary new technology that helps solve crime. BLAST is a worthwhile piece of crime control legislation. I hope that the Senate will quickly move to pass it.
I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the legislation be printed at the conclusion of my remarks.
As far as I am concerned, Glock is breaking bread with the enemy in common cause against our rights.
