Name-and-shame.
President Joe Biden campaigned on repealing the so-called “Tiahrt rider,” enacted in 2003, that protects from public disclosure law enforcement sensitive trace data contained within the ATF’s National Tracing Center’s (NTC) Firearm Tracing System (FTS). This is the database of firearms that have been recovered and traced by law enforcement in connection with a bona fide criminal investigation.
Importantly, the Tiahrt rider allows law enforcement to have access to and share trace information with others in law enforcement. It merely prevents the public disclosure of this sensitive data outside of law enforcement. Unsurprisingly, law enforcement, including the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), support this law that protects the integrity of criminal investigations and the lives of law enforcement and witnesses. Fortunately, President Biden has been unsuccessful in repealing this life-saving measure. ATF supported the law until recently.
Despite the law’s clear and unambiguous language that information from the FTS is not subject to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request or any civil process, e.g., a subpoena, guess what the Biden administration just did?
By Larry Keane