ATF Director Steven Dettelbach Details Procedures Agency Takes In Absence Of Federal Gun Owner RegistryMariane Angela
Contributor
March 03, 2024 9:48 PM ET
Steven Dettelbach, the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), shed light on the challenges his agency faces in tracing guns linked to crimes due to the absence of a federal gun registry during a “Face the Nation” interview Sunday.
Dettelbach emphasized the agency’s reliance on a process of sifting through a system of records.
“That means that we have to work within that system. That means that we have more people there pouring through records,” Dettelbach told “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan. “For what we call a normal trace, right now we’re running at about an eight-day lag.”
The ATF’s hands are tied by federal legislation which forbids the creation of a centralized database of gun ownership, compelling the agency to manually process millions of records each month, the director said. This limitation not only hampers the efficiency of tracing firearms used in crimes but also highlights the intensive nature of the investigative work required, according to CBS News. Dettelbach highlighted the extensive efforts involved in tracking down the original purchaser of a firearm.
https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1764334926235656634more
https://dailycaller.com/2024/03/03/atf-bureau-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-explosives-director-steven-dettelbach-procedures-federal-agency-gun-owner-registry/
