Posted July 25, 2007 12:00 p.m.
“Why is Congress fighting us?”
Stop Illegal Gun Trafficking
“I don’t want my officers to have their hands tied when it comes to dealing with the issue of illegal guns and criminals,” said Police Chief Scott Knight of Chaska, MN in a new video calling for the repeal of the Tiahrt amendment. The Tiahrt amendment was passed in 2003 and blocks local police from accessing federal gun tracing data.
The ad was commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bi-partisan coalition of more than 210 mayors from 40 states, It was aired in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and Congressman Todd Tiahrt’s district in Wichita, KS.
Since the ad’s debut in mid-April, numerous news editorials have called for the revision or repeal of the amendment. It was also covered by Good Morning America. Watch the GMA coverage!
Tiahrt Amendment Editorials:
“In the interests of public safety, all sides in this debate need to work together to clarify the Tiahrt amendment.” — The Wichita Eagle editorial 4/25/07
“Time to free ATF from NRA’s rule” – Boston Herald editorial 4/20/07
“We all have a right to see how the illegal gun trade works; we all have the right to judge how well the government is doing in curtailing that trafficking. And no one deserves to see that information as much as the policemen who deal every day with the consequences of illegal guns. – Home News Tribune editorial 4/23/07
“…rejecting the so-called Tiahrt amendment and similar measures that restrict local police departments’ access to federal gun-tracing information would help investigators across the country shut down the rogue gun sellers who account for a huge majority of the firearms used in crime.”
— Washington Post editorial 4/30/07
To learn more about the Tiahrt amendment, visit ProtectPolice.org.