U.S. House Rejects Attempt By Rep. Jim Moran To Strip Privacy Of Law-Abiding Gun Owners

(WASHINGTON, DC) -- In a vote of 268-161, the U.S. House of Representatives defeated an attempt by U.S. Representative Jim Moran -- joined by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and Rep. Henry Waxman -- to restrict the rights and privacy of law-abiding gun owners by giving the FBI authority to retain records of approved gun purchasers for at least 90 days. The amendment was designed to overturn Attorney General John Ashcroft`s recent proposal to reform and improve the operation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The National Rifle Association`s Chief Lobbyist, James Jay Baker, said, "On behalf of the NRA`s more than 4.4 million members, I am pleased to see that the U.S. House voted in support of maintaining the privacy of our citizens. While the Attorney General`s proposal is an effort to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens, Rep. Moran`s intentions were to further restrict those rights." The Brady Act itself clearly prohibits record retention. The language reads that no officer of the U.S. Government shall require "that any record or portion thereof generated by the system established under this section be recorded or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States...." (Sec. 103(I) ). "Reforming the NICS system and stopping all schemes to capture the names of honest American gun owners in a federal database are among the top priorities for NRA. Our members are very pleased with the outcome of the bipartisan, overwhelming defeat of the Moran amendment," concluded Baker.