Chicago City Wire

On June 5, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) reintroduced the Trafficking Reduction and Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act, to help the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reduce illegal firearms trafficking and make it harder for criminals to obtain deadly weapons.

“Each year, tens of thousands of guns end up in the wrong hands through illegal trafficking. Oftentimes, these illegally purchased or stolen firearms are then used in violent crimes. The United States needs more robust trafficking laws to crack down on illegal sales and mitigate gun violence in our communities,” said Quigley. “My legislation is a common sense approach to closing irrational gun loopholes that protect bad actors and put Americans in harm’s way. Ensuring illegally obtained weapons are kept off of our streets and out of our schools, our churches, and our homes should be a top priority for members on both sides of the aisle.”

“Every day, firearms used in crimes are recovered across the country, providing law enforcement critical evidence about the crime gun’s origins. However, allies of the gun lobby in Congress have placed barriers between the ATF and effective oversight of the gun industry, hampering their ability to prevent the unlawful diversion of firearms into the criminal market. The TRACE Act will remove these barriers and ensure that individuals who try to obliterate serial numbers from crime guns can still be held accountable. Brady applauds Rep. Quigley for reintroducing the TRACE Act and is proud to support this legislation,” said Kris Brown, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Quigley originally introduced the TRACE Act in 2011. This legislation is supported by Brady, Everytown for Gun Safety, Newtown Action Alliance, Giffords, and the Violence Policy Center.

The TRACE Act would:

• Require background check records to be maintained for a minimum of 180 days. The Tiahrt Amendments currently require 24-hour record destruction, making it nearly impossible to catch law-breaking gun dealers who falsify their records or to track straw purchasers who buy guns on behalf of criminals.
• Require gun dealers to perform inventory checks to report lost and stolen guns, a measure currently prohibited under the Tiahrt Amendments. If law-abiding dealers reported inventories, the ATF would be much more effective at identifying lost and stolen weapons and proactively combatting corrupt gun dealers.
• Repeal restrictions on gun trace data disclosures. Currently, members of the public, including researchers and litigants, cannot get trace data from the ATF under Tiahrt restrictions. Trace data is also inadmissible as evidence in civil proceedings under existing policy. The TRACE Act would repeal these restrictions.
• Require that new firearms have a second, hidden serial number located inside the frame or receiver that is only visible under infrared light when the firearm is fully disassembled. This would make it harder for criminals to remove serial numbers from firearms in an attempt to evade law enforcement.

Original source can be found here.