Wiped Clean Law limiting release of gun-trace data

As a candidate, Barack Obama promised to get rid of a law – quietly passed by Congress – that hides information from the public about guns used in crimes and the stores that sell them.
Instead, President Obama has embraced most of the law and added even more rules that could make it harder for law enforcement to crack down on dealers and stores selling guns to criminals.
While supporters of the secrecy law say shielding crime-gun data and dealer violations protects police officers, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn labels that notion “a crock.”
Before the law passed, it was easier to see such trends and Badger Outdoors ranked at the top, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In 2005 alone, the store sold 537 crime guns – most in the nation.
As public pressure mounted on gun dealers, a little-known congressman from Kansas slipped sweeping secrecy rules into a giant federal budget bill, protecting law-breaking gun stores from scrutiny and making it harder for law enforcement to get information it considers vital.
U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), who is the second-largest congressional recipient of National Rifle Association cash, said his legislation – commonly referred to as “Tiahrt” (pronounced TEE-heart) – is intended to protect undercover officers.
Flynn called the congressman’s rationale for the law “a cynical fig leaf.”
Campaign literature read: “Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information . . . .”
However, in his first budget, Obama included much of the Tiahrt limits. He cut out a line saying police and prosecutors need an investigative reason to get the data.
The president’s supporters said that change means police chiefs can get all the gun-trace data they want, but ATF officials don’t see it that way. ATF is considering a new system for police to share more data, but even then it won’t be the unfettered access Flynn and others want, ATF officials said.

New restrictions

Obama also added new restrictions, saying the data couldn’t be released if it jeopardized a criminal case or undercover officers and made it illegal to release the information publicly, for any reason.
In a statement, White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said the changes to the Tiahrt Amendment delivered on Obama’s priority to address law enforcement’s need for information.
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence blasted the president.More