Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to improve public transparency and accountability for gun trafficking in the United States by requiring routine data reports related to seizures and arrests by law enforcement.
The ATF Data and Anti-Trafficking Accountability (ATF DATA) Act would allow communities to make the case for increased resources to combat gun crime through improved insights into crime and trafficking patterns.
“Communities experiencing crime and gun violence due to increased trafficking of deadly weapons need every tool possible to secure resources to curb those threats. The ATF DATA Act will give local officials and the public the ability to get detailed and regular insights into trafficking patterns, allowing federal law enforcement to better inform how we tackle this danger in our cities across America,” said Senator Schiff.
The ATF DATA Act would require routine annual reporting on gun trafficking statistics, including:
• detailed analyses of what types of illegal firearms are being recovered;
• which dealers and geographical regions they’re being recovered from;
• what crimes they’re being used in, and;
• how they’re being purchased and diverted into the illegal market.
Schiff previously introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is a co-sponsor of the bill. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.-10) is leading the legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“To effectively tackle America’s escalating gun violence epidemic, we must first understand the full scope and extent of illegal gun trafficking,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “The ‘ATF DATA Act’ is a vital step towards increasing public transparency by requiring law enforcement to publish comprehensive data on gun seizures and related arrests. This information will help identify communities facing heightened gun trafficking, how these weapons are used, and where they’re being purchased. Answering these questions is crucial for developing effective gun violence prevention and intervention strategies, and for ensuring resources reach the communities that need them most.”
The legislation is supported by Brady, Everytown, and Newton Action Alliance.
The text of the legislation can be found here.
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