IL Rep Mike Quiqley Hearts the ATF

Do any of the political hacks introducing these hair-brained gun control schemes spend ten minutes thinking about them? The high-capacity magazine ban currently and thankfully languishing in Congress would make owning a firearm magazine that can hold more than 10 round punishable by a 10-year prison term. Given that there are MILLIONS of “happy sticks” in circulation, how would that work? Mass confiscation? Anyone remember the idea of making it a federal crime to possess a weapon within a thousand feet of a federal politician? What about micro-stamping? And here’s another one via the official website of Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley . . .

On the 12^th anniversary of the Columbine shooting tragedy, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) announced a bill to improve crime gun tracing and crack down on the illegal gun market.  The TRACE (Trafficking Reduction and Criminal Enforcement) Act would give the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) a greater ability to identify the source of illicit guns and choke off the supply to traffickers.

“When illegal guns flood our streets, precious lives are lost and communities are destroyed,” said Quigley. “The TRACE Act is common-sense for public safety, and would help law enforcement close the loopholes that allow criminals to buy and traffic guns.”

Is the ATF—as mired as it is in scandal—is the gun grabbers’ last redoubt? No doubt. The fact that Illinois Representative Quigley is [down] under the impression that it’s a good idea to give the ATF greater powers in the midst of a showdown between the Bureau and not one but two major Congressional investigation reveals that A) he has the political instincts of a block of cement and B) gun control advocates will attempt to do through regulation that they can’t do through legislation.

Quigley’s bill has three main parts:

* A second, hidden serial number on every gun: Violent criminals, including the perpetrator of the shootings at Virginia Tech, have attempted to obliterate serial numbers on thousands of guns recovered in crimes each year in an effort to thwart law enforcement. This provision would require gun manufacturers to install additional, tamper-resistant serial numbers either inside the gun barrel or visible only in infrared light.

* Maintaining background check records for 60 days: Currently, the 24 hour record destruction requirement makes it harder to catch law-breaking gun dealers who falsify their records, and it makes it more difficult to identify and track straw purchasers who buy guns on behalf of criminals who wouldn’t be able to pass a background check. A 60 day requirement would make criminal traces much more feasible.

* Requiring gun dealers to perform inventory checks to report lost and stolen guns: The ATF reported that in 2007 it found 30,000 guns missing from dealer inventories based on its inspection of just fewer than 10 percent of gun dealers. If law-abiding dealers reported their inventories, the ATF would be much more effective at identifying and combating corrupt gun dealers.

Tamper resistant! Security theater doesn’t get much better than that. Unless it’s an extra 59 days for the Agency that more-or-less gave Mexican drug cartels illegally purchased guns. What could possibly go wrong? And more paperwork for those nasty dealers who tipped-off the ATF to illegal purchases—so the ATF could let them go through.

Hey Mike. Ping me on [email protected] and I’ll give you the straight dope on “crime guns.” Or post here on exactly how this bill will stop gun crime. I dare ya.