April 29, 2007

A New Jersey congressman may hold the deciding vote on whether a House subcommittee will reject an absurd provision that severely restricts the police from obtaining valuable information about the source of guns used in crimes.

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen of Morris County is the ranking Republican member of a House Appropriations subcommittee that will consider the restriction…

The measure, which has been attached to appropriations bills each year since 2003, restricts the federal government from providing the police with information about the manufacturers, buyers and sellers of illegally used guns, except in narrow circumstances when it is needed to prosecute a specific crime.

According to mayors and most police chiefs, the provision is a major obstacle in their efforts to reduce gun crimes by determining where the firearms in their cities are coming from.

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