The Tiahrt Amendment
Dear Editor:
There's something that doesn't sound genuine about the NRA, something here that sounds a little crooked.
Starting in 2003, Republican Representative Theodore Tiahrt of Kansas added a budget amendment, sponsored by the NRA, effectively to block access to Federal gun trace data. This has been renewed every budget cycle and remains the law of the land.
·The Tiahrt rule means that states, cities, local police, even Federal agencies, cannot have access to gun reports.
·The Tiahrt rule requires that some records be destroyed within 24 hours. Clean, gone, no trace.
·The Tiahrt rule protects gun dealers from reporting on required inventory checks. Inventory leakage is a great way to get illegal guns into the community.
If the NRA's campaign of guns everywhere has been so constructive for the nation, you would expect the gun lobby to broadcast these results from the rooftops. "Victory, look at what we have achieved, and we have the results to show it!" But, that's not the case.
The argument is made that no gun database will ever be tolerable because of our fear of tyranny. The NRA fancies itself as a defender of liberty. Last time I checked, we routinely change governments here every two (House), four (President), and six (Senate) years. What you're not welcome to do is change governments out of sequence just cause you don't like the guy.
The gun lobby doesn't want you to know anything about the gun industry, and they won't let your Police know either. They cannot tolerate the sunlight of making public information public. It begs the question, what are they hiding? It's time for Republicans and the gun lobby to open the window on this dark secret, and let the American people see just how good a 'mechanical tool' all these guns have proven to be.
Think about where the real tyranny comes from, and the 'easy reach' of all the secret guns propagated throughout our society.
P.S.. There's so much information available on the Internet about the Tiahrt rule; check it out for yourselves.
Paul Iannacci
Townsend Road
