Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Feds consider new gun regs (Networking for Gun Control)



Feds consider new gun regs
November 20, 2013, 12:18 pm
By Julian Hattem
The Obama administration is working on new gun control regulations that would target stolen and missing weapons.

Police have a hard time tracking firearms that disappear from gun shops, which “just feeds the sort of already large and existing secondary market on guns,” said Sam Hoover, a staff attorney with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

It is unclear precisely what the draft regulations, drawn up by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and under review at the White House’s regulations office, would do.

The ATF would not comment on the draft rule, since it has not yet been released to the public, but a description provided by the White House asserts that it would target cases where guns go missing “in transit.”

Currently, gun dealers with a federal license are required to tell federal agents after they discover a firearm has gone missing, but they aren’t required to do routine checks.

“They can discover a gun missing today and have no idea when it went missing, which really makes that information useless to law enforcement,” said Chelsea Parsons, associate director of crime and firearms policy at the Center for American Progress.
The White House office has 90 days to review the proposed rule before releasing it to the public and allowing them to comment.

The draft rule was sent to the White House five months after the ATF completed a report that found that more than 190,000 firearms were estimated to have been lost or stolen last year. The report was one of 23 executive actions President Obama announced in January to reduce gun violence in the wake of last year’s shooting in Newtown, Conn.

That report helped to shine light on an often unseen corner of the gun market, supporters of stricter gun laws say.

“I think that in the area of guns and gun violence and gun commerce, we have had a complete lack of data and a lack of information,” said Parsons.

She wants the ATF to be able to take stronger action to monitor and track guns that go missing.

Since 2004, an appropriations rider has prevented the ATF from requiring gun dealers to do periodic checks. Gun rights advocates say that the measure protects innocent victims of crimes from punishment by the government.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Stephen McHale was the chief counsel for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and is a partner at Patton Boggs LLP.

Note: Karen Marangi was a lobbyist at Patton Boggs LLP, and is a principal at the Raben Group.
Melody C. Barnes was a principal at the Raben Group, the domestic policy council, director for the Barack Obama administration, the EVP for the Center for American Progress, and is Barack Obama’s golf partner.
Raben Group is the lobby firm for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and was the lobby firm for the Morehouse School of Medicine.
Eric H. Holder Jr. was an intern at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, a board member for the American Constitution Society, is a trustee at the Morehouse School of Medicine, and the attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice for the Barack Obama administration.
Robert Raben was a director at the American Constitution Society, an assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, is the president of the Raben Group, and a director at the Alliance for Justice.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress, the American Constitution Society, and the Alliance for Justice.
George Soros was a supporter for the Center for American Progress, a contributor for the American Bridge 21st Century, a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone, is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American Progress, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, the Harlem Children's Zone, the Robin Hood Foundation, and Refugees International.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is the chair for the American Bridge 21st Century, and a trustee at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Michael R. Bloomberg was a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone, a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation, is the New York (NY) mayor, and a co-chair for Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
NRA-ILA (Mayors Against Illegal Guns)
The Truth About "Mayors Against Illegal Guns"
Frank G. Wisner is a director emeritus at Refugees International, and the foreign affairs adviser at Patton Boggs LLP.
Stephen McHale is a partner at Patton Boggs LLP, and was the chief counsel for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

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