Date: Tue, 14 Mar 1995 03:04:27 -0500 From: alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Subject: INFO: Letter from BATF to Metaksa in re Centralized Registry DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS WASHINGTON, D.C. 20226 DIRECTOR CC-44,908 FE:SRR March 8, 1995 Ms. Tanya K. Metaksa National Rifle Association of America Institute for Legislative Action 11250 Waples Mill Road Fairfax, Virginia 22030-7400 Dear Ms. Metaksa: This is in response to your letter to Secretary Rubin concerning the system employed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to retrieve information from firearms licensees' out-of-business records. You state that at a hearing of the House Treasury, Postal Service Appropriations Subcommittee, officials of the Treasury Department and ATF indicated that the out-of-business records are being entered into a centralized registration system under the control of ATF. You are concerned that the maintenance of these records violates ATF's current appropriations and the Gun Control Act's (GCA) prohibition in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 926(a) against the centralization of licensee records or the creation of any centralized registry of firearms or firearms owners. Contrary to your assertions, the maintenance of the out-of-business records does not violate the appropriations restrictions and has been carefully designed to comply with the statutory restriction in section 926(a). The records in question consist of the manufacture, acquisition, and disposition records of former Federal firearms licensees. These records were kept by former licensees pursuant to the requirements of Federal law and regulations, and were required by statute to be delivered to the Secretary when a licensee discontinues business. 18 U.S.C. 923(g)(4). The out-of-business records are maintained at the National Firearms Tracing Center, and are used to complete firearms traces requested by Federal, State, and local law enforcement. ============================================================ - 2 - Ms. Tanya K. Metaksa In fiscal year 1992, ATF was appropriated $650,000 "for improvement of information retrieval systems at the National Firearms Tracing Center.~ Pub. L. No. 102-141, 105 Stat. 836 (October 28, 1991). The funds were sought to establish the Computer Assisted Retrieval System (CARS). CARS was carefully designed to allow microfilmed records to be indexed only by that information necessary to identify whether ATF has a record relating to a firearm being traced. CARS does not involve any computerized capture of information from the records. It is entirely dependent upon an operator manually entering certain key information from the microfilmed records into the indexing system. This index allows for the recordation of only five fields: the cartridge number of the microfilm; the frame number on the applicable cartridge; an index number (the serial number of a firearm); the Federal firearms licensee number; and the type of record on microfilm, i.e., Forms 4473 or bound book pages. CARS does not permit the operator to enter the name of any firearm purchaser, the name of any licensee, or even the type or model of the firearm. Since the establishment of CARS, traces begin with a query of that system, rather than the manufacturer or importer. Generally, the tracer enters the serial number of the firearm being traced. If the licensee is out of business, the firearm's serial number is matched with a particular record in CARS and the appropriate cartridge of microfilm located. This system has greatly reduced the need to contact manufacturers, importers, and other dealers. It has also reduced the time necessary to conduct traces. In conclusion, ATF is statutorily authorized to collect and maintain the out-of-business records of former Federal firearms licensees. The CARS system contains no information identifying purchasers of firearms and is exclusively designed and intended to facilitate the use of out-of-business records in tracing crime guns. Sincerely yours, (signed "Daniel R. Black for") John W. Magaw Director -- This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Many files are available via anonymous ftp from ftp.nra.org, via WWW at http://www.nra.org, via gopher at gopher.nra.org, and via WAIS at wais.nra.org Be sure to subscribe to the NRA mailing lists. Send the word help as the body of a message to listproc@NRA.org Information can also be obtained by connecting to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 934-2121.