Legislation to Watch – HR5917 Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act and S3299 Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act

The main purpose of HR5917/S3299 is to eliminate the Tiahrt Amendment. What is the Tiahrt Amendment? It is a provision of the DOJ appropriations bill that prohibits the National Tracing Center from releasing information from its firearms trace database to anyone but a law enforcement agency or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation.  It also prevents data legally released from being admissible in civil lawsuits against gun sellers or manufacturers. This amendment is what makes creating a gun registry illegal by preventing gun owner information from being shared.

HR5917

House Resolution 5917, the Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act, was introduced February 14, 2020. The bill’s sponsor is Representative Barbara Lee of California’s 13^th District and it has 32 cosponsors.  HR5917 is assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. The committee assigned it to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

The stated purpose of the bill is “to repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms laws.”

S3299

Senate bill 3299 – Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act is the sister bill of HR5917. SB3299, introduced February 13, 2020 is sposored by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey. The bill is assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee and has 7 cosponsors. S3299 has the same expressed purpose as HR5917.

What the Legislation Does

There are several things to be aware of in these two bills.

• Repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, a 17 year old law that protects the privacy of gun owners.
• Eliminates the mandate that to destroy NCIS background check information after approval.
• Exposes gun owners and dealers to being targets for doxxing and lawsuits by anti-gun rights groups.
• Repeals the limitations on mandatory audits of firearms retailers. 
• Fails to provide for any security procedures measures to protect privacy.
• Does not require a warrant or court order to search for or obtain personal information and data.
• Fails to prevent 4473 (background check) information from being included in the database.

Why You Should Care

When paired with HR6006 and S3348 – Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act of 2020, these bills open up gun owners to a wide range of privacy violations. First HR5917 and S3299 remove the privacy safety net provided by the Tiahrt Amendment. With the elimination of the Tiahrt Amendment, the door is open for the creation of a registry. It is important that we contact our representatives and tell them this is a bad idea.

You can follow the progress of these bills here:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5917

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3299