Two House amendments to the Justice Department's budget unwisely undermine gun law enforcement.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006; A14

WE DON'T expect common-sense gun laws from this Congress, but a couple of House-passed riders to the Justice Department's 2007 budget are especially noxious -- and ripe for Senate repair.

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The restrictions the House approved for ATF gun-tracing information, meanwhile, have tainted Justice Department funding bills since Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) added them in 2003. This data tracks a gun's history once it's been seized in a crime. Gun rights advocates claim that the government shouldn't provide it to the public because criminals could check to see if they're being investigated.

But the budget that passed the House last month goes beyond blocking public disclosure; the rider would keep gun-tracing information from local police unless it's for a specific criminal case. Even then, they couldn't share it with neighboring authorities -- a provision that would seriously hamper tracking and interdiction of illegal guns. If D.C. police used ATF tracing data to find that a large number of guns used in homicides came from one shop in Maryland, District police couldn't share that information with Maryland law enforcement agents.

The House also wants to render federal gun-tracing information inadmissible in civil court, hindering legal action against irresponsible gun distributors. New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's office, which is trying to sue some of these "rogue" gun sellers, claims that civil litigation is an essential tool to fight interstate gun trafficking. Given that in 2000 1.2 percent of gun dealers sold 57 percent of the guns used in crimes, the mayor has a point.

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© 2006 The Washington Post Company