Bill introduced to have firearm transaction records shredded

AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar

Yesterday I reported on a bill that was introduced to force the ATF to stop using the electronic database illegally housing gun owners’ information. There’s another similar bill introduced earlier this month which is worth bringing up. H.R.6945 – No Retaining Every Gun In a System That Restricts Your Rights Act was introduced by Congressman Michael Cloud. The bill’s title does not really do it full justice, however the text of the bill is short enough to share in full, and pretty black and white on reversing unconstitutional policy.

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A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to discontinue the collection by the Federal Government of firearm transaction records of discontinued firearms businesses, to require the destruction of such already collected records, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “No Retaining Every Gun In a System That Restricts Your Rights Act” .

SEC. 2. DESTRUCTION OF BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES FIREARM TRANSACTION RECORDS OF DISCONTINUED FIREARMS BUSINESSES.

(a) In General.—Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives shall destroy all firearm transaction records delivered to the Attorney General pursuant to section 923(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code.

(b) Preventing Future Firearm Registration.—Section 923(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the 2nd and 3rd sentences.

SEC. 3. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.

The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives shall submit to the Congress a written report that specifies the number of firearm transaction records destroyed pursuant to section 2(a).

This is a commonsense proposal that will help stop governmental overreach. If we were not dealing with an agency that was single handedly responsible for the unnecessary deaths of so many people at Waco, or a group of people that are alleged to kill people’s dogs without cause, we’d probably not care as much about the records. Nevermind the rest of the naughty things the ATF has done over the years. However, we’re dealing with a rogue agency that has become a weapon of the progressive mission to disarm Americans, in my opinion a modern SS by the way they’ve been acting as of late.

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The text of the bill is fairly simple, they’re to get rid of the records they have from FFLs. Looking a bit deeper into what’s being removed from law, Section 923(g)(4) of title 18, we have the following, note the 2nd and 3rd sentences which would be removed from law:

(4)Where a firearms or ammunition business is discontinued and succeeded by a new licensee, the records required to be kept by this chapter shall appropriately reflect such facts and shall be delivered to the successor. Where discontinuance of the business is absolute, such records shall be delivered within thirty days after the business discontinuance to the Attorney General. However, where State law or local ordinance requires the delivery of records to other responsible authority, the Attorney General may arrange for the delivery of such records to such other responsible authority.

The law will no longer require dealers to fork over their records to the government after their business closes.

If we dig real deep into the Brady Act we have 2 main provisions; the Interim Provision and Permanent Provision. This is important because these areas talk all about the information on form 4473. Spoiler alert, nowhere in the permanent provision was the need for a “statement” being made post the NICS system becoming operational. The permanent provision requires suitable photographic identification. The “statement” in the interim provision that was required, was only applicable to handguns, but somehow we have to fill out 4473 for all firearms now?

The matter of these unconstitutional documents gets murky quickly. At least this bill aims to address the collection and storage of the forms. This is a great start in undoing decades of infringements on our Second Amendment right as well as our implied right to privacy, as outlined in several provisions in the Constitution. 

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Americans have long suffered at the hand of bureaucrats that try to make their own laws and find loopholes around our civil liberties. This bill should not even have to be created, but because of the actions of the ATF over the years, clearly we need further protections. Hide your dogs kids and be weary of any knocks at the door on Valentine’s day!

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