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Gun dealers challenge US reporting requirement
Published January 09, 2013
| Associated Press
A lawyer for two Arizona gun dealers argued Wednesday that the Obama administration overstepped its legal authority in trying to halt the flow of U.S. guns to Mexican drug gangs when it required dealers in border states to report when customers buy multiple high-powered rifles.
Attorney Richard Gardiner told a federal appeals court panel that the directive requires gun dealers to create a records system and the government has no authority to do that.
At issue is a requirement that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives imposed in 2011 on gun sellers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The requirement compels sellers to report to the ATF when anyone buys — within a five-day period — two or more semi-automatic weapons capable of accepting a detachable magazine and with a caliber greater than .22.
The bureau says the requirement is needed to help stop the flow of guns to Mexican drug cartels.
Gun issues are in the spotlight these days as the Obama administration works on new policies to tackle gun violence after last month’s school shooting in Connecticut. Tracking guns and limiting gun and ammunition purchases are among the ideas suggested so far by advocacy groups, officials and others.
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