The ATF’s National Tracing Center (NTC) is our nation’s only firearms tracing facility. It provides gun ownership and trafficking information to law enforcement agencies and tracks the intrastate and international movement of firearms. The NTC draws on several databases that contain firearm tracing information from millions of traces performed since 1989. These databases include reports of gun sales, suspected guns used in crimes, traces of subsequent owners of a gun, and lists of stolen guns. Once a gun is traced, the personal data of the buyer is permanently retained in the trace file regardless of their innocence. Critics say that under the 1986 Firearms Owners' Protection Act, it is illegal for the ATF to keep these records. The ATF, claiming compliance, continues consolidating and centralizing records maintained by federally-licensed gun dealers into the Firearms Tracing System.
Proposed Legislation: H.R.6006 - Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act of 2020
Prospective Sponsor: Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ)
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