Gun records' life shortened
Ashcroft tells FBI to destroy background papers after 1 day

06/29/2001

By Russ Rizzo / The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON – Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Thursday that
the Justice Department will sharply reduce the amount of time the FBI
can retain the records of gun purchasers' instant criminal background
checks.

The move, which came just three days after the Supreme Court rebuffed
the National Rifle Association's bid for immediate destruction of the
records, was denounced by gun-control groups as pandering to the gun
lobby.

Mr. Ashcroft said his directive that the FBI destroy the records
after one business day, down from the current 90-day policy,
would "improve the accuracy, efficiency and reliability of the
National Instant Criminal Background Check System."

Congress required the instant background check system as part of the
Brady law. Federal law-enforcement officials have used the records to
conduct periodic audits to ferret out possible fraud and abuse by gun
dealers and purchasers.

Mr. Ashcroft said that system would be replaced with more
reliable "real-time" computerized audits.

Gun-control groups, however, said the switch would weaken the system
and allow criminals to buy guns.

"This is the first concerted sign that this administration is intent
on dismantling the Brady law," said Matthew Nosanchuk, legislative
counsel of the Violence Policy Center, which has criticized Mr.
Ashcroft's gun policies.

Americans for Gun Safety, which is seeking to steer a centrist
approach to the issue of guns, was equally critical.

"Corrupt gun dealers are a major source of black-market guns, which
fuels gun crime," said Jonathan Cowan, president of Americans for Gun
Safety. "The audits that the FBI conducts of the ... [background
check] system helps lead them to these dishonest dealers. Today's
action guts the ability of the FBI to ferret out these criminals."

The NRA welcomed the policy shift, although the organization's chief
lobbyist said the Justice Department could have gone further.

"We're pleased with the movement, but we'd like it to move a little
more," said James J. Baker. "They have come a lot closer to what we
think the Congress intended when they originally fashioned the
instant check language."

The NRA had sued to force immediate destruction of the records,
arguing that their retention was tantamount to a gun registry and
represented an incursion on gun owners' privacy rights. The Justice
Department, in a position that preceded Mr. Ashcroft's arrival,
argued in court papers that there was a "great need" to perform
audits of the background check records.

In a study last year, the Justice Department also concluded that 90
days was the minimum period needed to successfully audit the instant
background check system.

'Pro-privacy' decision
 

The Ashcroft plan reduces the retention period of all records to 24
hours except for the cases that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms requests for review. The bureau will be allowed to hold the
records for 30 days to investigate dealers.
That timetable is still too long, the NRA contends.

"While the Ashcroft regulations come a long way toward complying with
the law, they are still keeping the records on law-abiding people
longer than they ought to," Mr. Baker said.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., welcomed
the decision.

"I applaud the attorney general for this pro-privacy initiative," Mr.
Leahy said. "I look forward to working with him to protect the
privacy of law-abiding citizens while keeping guns from the hands of
criminals and children."

But the author of a Senate bill that would extend criminal background
checks to gun-show sales called the Ashcroft plan "preposterous."

Taking away post-purchase investigations of the records will "weaken
the ability of law enforcement to track down criminals," said Sen.
Jack Reed, D-R.I., whose legislation would set a 90-day retention
period.

Increased enforcement
 

Mr. Ashcroft also announced Thursday that the Justice Department
would increase enforcement and prosecution of gun violations, a move
welcomed by gun-rights and gun-control advocates alike. The
department will allocate 113 new prosecutors to crack down on illegal
gun purchases in cities with the highest levels of gun crimes,
including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Washington.
"We must do a better job of preserving the integrity of our gun laws
in the eyes of the citizens who are expected to obey these laws," Mr.
Ashcroft said.

Of 217,000 attempted illegal gun purchases referred for investigation
over the last six years, only 294 people were convicted, he noted.

The department also will provide $44 million to help states upgrade
their criminal background records and provide more complete
information on the disposition of arrests.

Mr. Ashcroft said he wanted to create a balance between gun buyers'
privacy rights and enforcement. He said he aimed to speed the time
necessary to process the instant background checks, 71 percent of
which are completed within seconds.

A Justice Department study this year found that 94 percent of all
checks were completed within two hours and that people in the
remaining 6 percent were 20 times more likely to have a disqualifying
conviction in their record.

Mr. Nosanchuk of the Violence Policy Center, which opposed Mr.
Ashcroft's nomination as attorney general, said his background as a
gun-rights advocate and NRA member were reflected in Thursday's
action.

During his tenure in the Senate, Mr. Ashcroft voted in favor of
legislation that would have required the immediate destruction of the
background check records, he and others noted.

"As we feared, Attorney General Ashcroft appears more interested in
dismantling our nation's gun laws than in vigorously enforcing them,"
said Michael Barnes, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence, formerly known as Handgun Control Inc. "The attorney
general's priorities and the National Rifle Association's agenda
appear to be the same."

Staff writer Michelle Mittelstadt contributed to this report.

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