By Adena Schutzman, USCM Intern
July 30, 2007

The House Appropriations Committee approved the Tiahrt Amendment on July 12, sending illegal gun protection legislation opposed by mayors, police executives and local law enforcement officers to the floor. The Amendment was included in the Fiscal Year 2008 Department of Justice funding bill.

Introduced in 2003, the Tiahrt Amendment has worked to undermine investigatory efforts of law enforcement agencies by protecting firearm tracing information housed at the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). While the amendment allows for police officers to request information on particular crimes, it bars the sharing of aggregate data, preventing law enforcement agencies from tracing gun related offenses across jurisdictional lines.

In the committee session, Representative Todd Tiahrt (KS) introduced some minor revisions to the amendment, including provisions that would grant antiterrorism agencies and the Department of Homeland Security access to ATF’s aggregate data. However, these changes still criminalize data sharing by non-federal authorities and prevent law enforcement agencies from observing local and regional illegal gun trends.

An amendment introduced by Representative Patrick Kennedy (RI) sought to authorize the use of gun-trace information by law enforcement while accounting for the privacy and legal fears voiced by Tiahrt supporters. The Kennedy Amendment failed on a vote of 26 to 40.

Earlier that week, the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition held a press conference on Capitol Hill to rally support against the Tiahrt Amendment. Led by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the press conference boasted a slew of mayors, Congress members, and police chiefs.

Conference of Mayors President Trenton (NJ) Mayor Douglas H. Palmer represented the Conference of Mayors at the press conference, emphasizing that children are often the victims of illegal gun-related violence. “I want to say to Congress, the children, the children, in America are watching,” Palmer said.

The Conference of Mayors has a long history of supporting laws to protect police and citizens, recently reaffirming its opposition to the Tiahrt Amendment with a resolution during its annual meeting in Los Angeles.

“If this bill is passed, it would be an insult to police officers who face the consequences of illegal guns,” Bloomberg said.

“The Tiahrt Amendment puts handcuffs on safety officials,” Menino added, insisting that police access to ATF tracing information “…is about giving the police department the tools they need. This is about common sense.”

The full Senate Appropriations Committee has adopted a version of the amendment that threatens to place even greater restrictions on ATF’s sharing abilities than in the past.