Tri-State Livestock NewsSen. Moran urges federal ban on gun owner data collectionU.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), along with U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and 10 of their Senate colleagues, introduced the Gun-Owner Registration Information Protect (GRIP) Act. The legislation would prohibit federal funding from being used to support a gun registry maintained by any other organization, including state and local governments.
“The U.S. Constitution guarantees the ‘right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,’ but a national firearm database would threaten that fundamental right,” Sen. Moran said. “The GRIP Act makes certain Kansans’ freedoms are not infringed upon simply because they own firearms. While much needs to be done to prevent violent crime in our nation, auditing responsible, law-abiding firearms owners is not the answer. I will continue to support the freedoms of Americans and oppose any legislation before Congress that violates Americans’ Second Amendment Rights.”
The GRIP Act would clarify existing law that bars the federal government from storing information acquired during the firearms background check process. It would extend that prohibition to prevent any federal funding from being used to contribute to nonfederal gun registries.
In addressing state and local gun registry programs, the expanded federal prohibition in the GRIP Act would ensure that states and local entities that benefit from federal grant programs, such as the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program, do not use that funding to create or support full or partial registries of firearms information. The legislation does not include any limitations related to state recordkeeping for permitting, law enforcement-issued firearms, or lost or stolen firearms.
The GRIP Act is endorsed by the National Rifle Association.
–Senator Moran