U.S. Gun-Tracking Records Aren’t Public, Court Says

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Federal records on gun sales are no longer public, a federal court in Chicago decided, citing an obscure provision in a 2005 federal appropriations bill, and possibly ending a running battle by the City of Chicago to take action against gun makers, distributors and dealers whose marketing it believes violates a city gun possession law. Congress added the provision to its Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005, making the records “immune from legal process.” The effect is to permit access to the gun-tracking data of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives only for law enforcement purposes. (9/20/05)