Justice Department Appropriations Bill Would License..New "Kitchen-Table" Gun Dealers

[shooterx10]

Eleventh-Hour NRA Amendment to Justice Department Appropriations Bill Would License Tens of Thousands of New "Kitchen-Table" Gun Dealers
7/22/2003

Press Release
Violence Policy Center
1140 19th Street, NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036

Contact:
Jennifer Friedman
Phone: 202-822-8200

Amendment Would Also Severely Weaken Gun Dealer Oversight By ATF

Washington, DC - A National Rifle Association (NRA)-backed amendment inserted by Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) at the last minute into fiscal year 2004 appropriations legislation for the Commerce, Justice and State Departments would dramatically increase the number of "kitchen-table" gun dealers across America, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) charged today. The surprise amendment, adopted last week by the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 31 to 30, would require the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to issue Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) to "kitchen-table" gun dealers, applicants who do not actually run stocking gun stores, but instead operate out of homes and offices.

The Clinton Administration implemented policies to significantly reduce the number of illegitimate gun dealers, which numbered more than 245,000 in 1994. At that time, there were more gun dealers in America than gas stations. Today, there are approximately 58,500 gun dealers in the U.S. Efforts to reduce the number of "kitchen-table" dealers occurred after studies--including the VPC's 1992 More Gun Dealers Than Gas Stations--and anecdotal evidence showed that "kitchen-table" dealers contributed heavily to criminal gun trafficking. Many of these dealers sold guns out of cars or apartments in urban areas where gun possession is tightly regulated. A chart showing the drop in the number of dealers in your state from 1994 to 2003 is below.

Tiarht's amendment would prohibit ATF from refusing gun dealer licenses to applicants "due to a lack of business activity." Current federal law requires dealers to engage in a specified level of business activity to ensure that licensees are actually engaged in legitimate business. Prior to 1994, when the Clinton Administration began vigorously enforcing this "engaged in the business" requirement, a large percentage of gun dealers held licenses only to buy guns at wholesale prices and acquire them for themselves, friends, or neighbors. Others used their licenses to funnel guns to gangs, drug dealers, and other criminals.

"The Tiarht amendment will take us back to the days when America had more gun dealers than gas stations and `kitchen-table' dealers were a main source of guns for criminals. The House of Representatives should reject Representative Tiarht's dangerous proposal to balloon the number of licensed gun dealers and subvert ATF's already weak oversight authority," states VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand.

The amendment would also severely undermine the ability of ATF to ensure that gun dealers are obeying federal gun laws. ATF would be limited in its ability to obtain records of firearm acquisition and disposition from dealers. In addition, the agency would be barred from implementing regulations to monitor dealer inventory. Such information may be essential in determining how criminals gain access to firearms — a matter still under investigation in the Washington, D.C.-area sniper case.

Date of Release: July 21, 2003

Here is the link.

 

[Kharn]

Here's the Brady Bunch whine about the same amendment: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=121-07232003

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United with the Million Mom March Statement on the Tiahrt Amendment

7/23/03 12:29:00 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: National Desk

Contact: Peter Hamm of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United with the Million Mom March, 202-898-0792

WASHINGTON, July 23 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following statement regarding the Tiahrt Amendment was released today by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United with the Million Mom March:

-- How Does Congress Do Stuff Like This with A Straight Face?

-- Helping "Bad Apple" Gun Dealers by Crippling Federal Enforcement Powers

-- Important disclaimer: the information that follows may make elected officials look like idiots.

We've all seen politicians do handstands for the NRA - that's nothing new, but right now a viewer from a distance would think the House floor was just a big game of NRA Twister.

While the Senate continues to seriously consider a bill that would free the gun industry from the nagging inconveniences of our judicial system by making it the only industry immune from civil action, the House takes up equally bizarre legislation-a rider to an appropriations bill-that would scold federal investigators who collect or disseminate data that even suggests that anything inappropriate is going on at the worst gun dealers in the country.

"Last week, we shared a list of ten gun dealers who sold incredibly high numbers of guns traced to crime. And how do the gun lobby's allies in Congress react? They don't want to fix the problem -- they want to hide the evidence. It's appalling," said Michael Barnes, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United with the Million Mom March.

The rider that last week passed the full House Appropriations Committee by a 31-30 vote would cripple the ability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to enforce the nation's gun laws against firearms dealers. The public's safety and security will suffer if this amendment becomes law.

Specifically, the so-called "Tiahrt Amendment" would:

-- Protect "Bad Apple" Dealers Who Cannot Keep Track of Their Firearms. The snipers who terrorized Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. obtained the assault rifle used in their sniper attacks from a Tacoma, Washington gun store called Bull's Eye Shooter Supply. After the sniper suspects were apprehended and the gun was recovered and traced, Bull's Eye claimed to have no record of selling the gun, and did not even know it was missing until the shooting spree was over. The snipers' gun was just one of more than 238 firearms "missing" from Bull's Eye's inventory during the previous three years. Under the Tiahrt Amendment, ATF could no longer require dealers like Bull's Eye to take a physical inventory of their firearms.

-- Shield "Bad Apple" Dealers From the Public Eye. As ATF has indicated, analysis of crime gun traces and multiple sale reports has yielded a series of gun "trafficking indicators" that can be linked to particular firearms dealers, including multiple crime guns traced to an FFL (federal firearms licensee) or first retail purchaser; short time-to-crime for crime guns traced to an FFL or first retail purchaser; incomplete trace results, due to an unresponsive FFL or other causes; significant or frequently reported firearms losses or thefts by an FFL; and frequent multiple sales of handguns by an FFL or multiple purchases of firearms by a non-licensee, combined with crime gun traces. ATF has always made this information available to the public through Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") requests which allow for vital public oversight of the effectiveness of the Agency. Under the Tiahrt Amendment, ATF will not be allowed to release trace or multiple sale data, thereby shielding the worst firearms dealers from public scrutiny.

-- End ATF's Ability To Monitor the Small Group of Dealers Linked to a Majority of Crime Gun Traces. Several ATF studies have highlighted the fact that most crime guns are traced through a tiny subset of the federally licensed firearm dealers in this country. For example, in 1998, only 1.2 percent of the existing dealers (1,020) were responsible for selling more than 57 percent of the guns traced to crime. Most of these same dealers had a significant percentage of their traced guns linked to crime within a short time period, which ATF considers indicative of gun trafficking. One of the things ATF did was to require these high-risk dealers to provide information on sales of used guns to help identify additional crime guns linked to these stores. Under the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of ATF to gather additional data, ATF will be forced to abandon this focused enforcement effort.

-- Require Destruction of Brady Act Records. Since its inception in 1994, the Brady Act has prevented more than 840,000 prohibited purchasers from getting guns. Pursuant to its regulatory authority, the Department of Justice (DOJ) currently maintains certain background check records for up to 90 days to ensure proper auditing of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and to ensure that if any criminals or other prohibited purchasers were incorrectly allowed to purchase guns, the mistakes can be corrected. Immediate destruction of the records, which the Tiahrt Amendment would require, would make it impossible for the DOJ to correct NICS errors and result in more criminals with guns. In a 2002 study, the General Accounting Office (GAO) noted the dangers of requiring that NICS records be destroyed within 24 hours. The GAO found that retained NICS records "that were more than 1 day old but less than 90 days old were used to initiate over 100 firearm-retrieval actions in the 4-month period beginning July 3, 2001 (when the current 90-day retention policy became effective) through October 2001. Thus, next-day destruction of NICS records could inhibit the ability of law enforcement to retrieve firearms from persons who were approved to purchase firearms but should not have been."

-- Require ATF to Disavow the Conclusions of Numerous Studies it has Published. The Tiahrt Amendment would require ATF to publish an elaborate disclaimer as part of any tracing study it publishes in the future that directly contradicts statements the agency has previously made such as "Historically, firearms trace studies have proven to be an excellent tool in identifying illegal firearms trafficking patterns, illegal purchasers, problem firearms dealers, and source areas of supplying firearms."

-- Reinstate "Kitchen Table" Dealers Who Had Once Been Linked to Widespread Gun Trafficking. Federal laws and regulations in the early 1990s instituted real reform in the licensing requirements for retail firearms dealers, making it much tougher for individuals to obtain licenses and ensuring that those who were licensed were in fact bona fide businesses. The resulting dramatic decline in the number of dealers from more than 250,000 to less than 100,000 in a few years coincided with a parallel sharp decline in gun crime. The Tiahrt Amendment reverses that progress by stripping ATF of its discretion to deny a license renewal to individuals who have used their licenses for personal acquisition of guns and may sell guns out of their home. These "kitchen table" dealers were often linked to crime gun trafficking. The Amendment also effectively repeals federal law defining what it means to be "engaged in the business" to be a firearms dealer, which until now has been a requirement to obtain a firearms license.

When they're finished doing the work of the extreme gun lobby, Members of Congress will need physical therapy before they can stand up straight again. And the nation's police officers will be even more outgunned on America's streets.

*****************************************
If they're this pissed about it, its all good in my book.
Has anyone else noticed that the ATF seems to be getting the shaft lately? Their appropriations bill included some nice language regarding C&R imports, now this amendment. Hopefully its a rising trend...

Kharn

 

[Standing Wolf]

If they're this ###### about it, its all good in my book.

Maybe we should send the leftist extremists a nice thank-you note for helping us stay up to date on the latest developments.

 

[444]

A Chicken in every pot and a gun dealer on every corner.

I like.




I am sure this is more liberal statistics. I don't know about nationwide, but the "gas station" is pretty much a thing of the past around here. I couldn't even tell you where there is a gas station in the style that was around when I was a kid. Around here 99% of the gas is sold at a convience store. I would be willing to bet that these are not counted in the statistics since these are convience stores and not gas stations.

 

[Kharn]

I've searched for at least an hour, and I cant find the text of this 'Tiahrt Amendment' anywhere on the web. Has anyone managed to find a copy?

Kharn

 

[dshimm]

And the oroblem with this is what?

 

[BogBabe]

As close as I can tell, the anti-freedom crowd are against this bill because federal firearms licenses would be issued to dealers who don't sell enough guns.

So the solution would be for all those "kitchen-table dealers" to sell more guns. Then the VPC would be happy, right?

 

[stevelyn]

Don'tcha just love the spin these folks put on things. They go out of their way to mislead the uninformed and those who pay little attention to what's being said. Words do mean something.

"The Clinton administration implemented policies to reduce the number of illegitimate gun dealers....."

If they're licensed by BATFE, how can they be illegitimate ?

Again we see the anti-freedom crowd engaging in hysterics half truths and deceptions. They don't mention the fact that the dealers will still have to have tranferees fill out Form 4473, and the licensed dealer will still have to conduct a NICS check on every customer before they tranfer the gun to them and do another NICS check for each subsequent purchase. And like any other dealer they must maintain the sales records for 25 years or transfer the records to BATFE if they decide to go out of business.

 

[RangerHAAF]

This new bill is a step in the right direction but there are still hurdles on the local level to overcome. For example, I applied for an FFL a few months back and was told by the ATF rep that the county that I live in has an ordnance that does not allow for people to sell guns from out of their homes. Thankfully, this is not a state law and I can either move to a county that has no such restrictions or I can use the address of the warehouse that I rent space from to receive delivery of my guns, since it is a commercial address.

 

[Sam Adams]

Don'tcha just love the spin these folks put on things. They go out of their way to mislead the uninformed and those who pay little attention to what's being said. Words do mean something

quote: "The Clinton administration implemented policies to reduce the number of illegitimate gun dealers....."

If they're licensed by BATFE, how can they be illegitimate ?

While I am gratified by this development, and I will rejoice if it is again possible to become a dealer out of one's home, I think that it would be nice for someone to point out to ourselves, as well as the VPC and the Brady Bunch that prior to 1968 there was NO SUCH THING AS AN FFL! Anyone could buy directly from manufacturers or wholesalers, so long as one would sell to an individual. Anyone could buy a gun mail order, just by signing a statement that they were over 21. There WERE no background checks. In other words, we had considerable freedom 35 years ago - within living memory of many on this board. "Kitchen table" dealers arose because people were sick and tired of paying through the nose for guns and supplies, and the FFL was only $30/year. Yet, the VPC types act as if the whole country would erupt into some kind of national gangwar, with people having a tough time deciding between going to the movies or committing a drive-by shooting, just because we might move back to the way things were before Slick Willie (which itself was intolerable compared to 25 years before that).

This is incrementalism at work, folks. This is how our rights have been slowly but surely destroyed. First, we lost the right to buy machine guns without heavy regulations and taxes (1934); then FFL's were imposed and direct mail order of guns was killed (1968); then machine gun manufacture was killed (1986); then the Brady Act and the AWB. When are we going to start fighting back? When are we going to demand that we be able to enjoy the same rights as our parents and grandparents did? I wait for the NRA to display this kind of aggressiveness (note: I have been a member since 1989).

 

[RangerHAAF]

You are absolutely right about creeping incrementalism. They are gutting the 2nd Amendment generationally. I'm not old enough to remember when you could buy guns through the mail but my uncles are.

I grew up in the 70's, when a boy could go out hunting with a yellow and black tube of BB's and his gun without being admonished and discouraged from shooting birds and squirrels. We did these things because it was a great way to pass the time, practice marksmanship, and learn personal responsibility; which is not taught anymore because if a person doesn't like the outcome of a particular development all they need to do is sue and throw tantrums in front of the media to try to get what they want.

I have been an NRA Life member since 1991 and I've attended the last two annual meetings in Reno and Orlando. They are great gatherings but after S.659 passes and the rifle ban is gone all gun owners need to go on the offensive to get our full auto rights back.

A lot of people call Neal Knox and his acolytes crazy and out of the mainstream but he's right on the money when he makes the observation that the police and the military have weaponry available to them to suppress the population at large, en masse if they should ever so desire to do it.

I see no reason that a law-abiding citizen should not be able to avail himself of the same type of weaponry.

Liberal/anti-gun types will always rationalize gun grabbing as being for the greater good of a civilized society; and with each suceeding generation there is less emphasis and lessons being taught about American history and the Constitution, per se.

 

[Sam Adams]

A lot of people call Neal Knox and his acolytes crazy and out of the mainstream but he's right on the money when he makes the observation that the police and the military have weaponry available to them to suppress the population at large, en masse if they should ever so desire to do it.

I don't agree. The police and military have a LOT of weapons, for sure. But 80 million or so of us are armed with 250 million or so firearms. As the Russians used to say, "Quantity has a quality all its own." Yes, the government could put a big hurt on a lot of people. However, such heavy-handedness would inspire resistance, and with the large number of people that can down a deer at 500 yards, I wouldn't want to be a pol that ordered or cooperated in such a thing. Nor would I want to be a cooperating police or army official - the pols are guarded much better. And the pols would likely have to worry about their families in such a circumstance - the history of resistance movements in the 20th century shows that when pols put the hurt on a lot of people, including innocent women and children, then those resisting tend not to obey the Geneva Conventions and other norms of civilized behavior. In the end numbers would win. Also, consider that not all police and military would go along with such a scheme - and some would actively resist, by fighting, supplying weapons or supplying intelligence (like, for instance, "Pol X will be at location Y at 2 PM tomorrow").

I do agree with you that the citizenry should have more weapons available for purchase - after all, our employees have them.

 

[jimpeel]

Same stuff, different day.

"kitchen-table" gun dealers

illegitimate gun dealers

more gun dealers in America than gas stations

contributed heavily to criminal gun trafficking.

sold guns out of cars or apartments

funnel guns to gangs, drug dealers, and other criminals.

main source of guns for criminals.

ATF's already weak oversight authority,"

Yep, same guys alright.

 

[Zundfolge]

When I lived in Wichita I voted for Tiahrt every time ... I always wrote him letters asking him to support various legislation and he always wrote back ... may times to tell me he was a co-sponser of the bill (the Enumerated Powers act for one).

As far as I can tell Tiahrt is the ONLY Republican from Kansas who is not a RINO ... if he ever runs for Gov, you guys still in Kansas NEED to vote for him

 

[Detachment Charlie]

illegitimate gun dealers

"illegitimate gun dealers"
What this REALLY means is that these gun dealers were born to parents who were not married to each other.
I know the left would love to cal them the "B" word, but that applies to too many of their own kind.

 

[bigcuz]

When do these new regs take effect?

I am interested in becoming a "kitchen table" dealer. Does anyone know when these new regs take effect? Are they retroactive, or do we have to wait until the new Federal fiscal year in October?

Peace,

Bruce