Gun Owners of America Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ellie McDaniel
October 24, 2002
(703)321-8585

GOA Criticizes Sen. Schumer’s Plan to Register Gun Owners
– Says registration invades privacy and won’t help police catch
crooks

(Springfield, VA) — Gun Owners of America blasted a recent proposal

by Democrat Senator Charles Schumer of New York, who wants to
register the “ballistic fingerprints” of every gun sold in America.

“This idea won’t stop crooks from using guns in crimes,” said GOA
Director of Communications Erich Pratt. “The overwhelming majority
of criminals don’t leave a paper trail when buying firearms.

“In fact, Maryland and New York have, together, registered almost
50,000 ballistic fingerprints and, to date, not one criminal has
been caught in either state using that technology,” Pratt said.

Proponents of ballistic fingerprinting want to register the unique
“signature” that each firearm leaves on a bullet or cartridge case
after it is fired, and trace it back to the original buyer of the
gun. This, they claim, might help police use the ballistic evidence

at crime scenes to help catch criminals like the Beltway shooter.

“But crooks have a habit of not registering their firearms,” Pratt
said. “They can steal their guns from their victims, or they can
borrow or rent them from fellow crooks. Even when they get their
weapons from gun stores, they can use fake IDs or straw purchasers
to complete the sale.

“No wonder that attempts to trace ballistic evidence back to gun
buyers has only led police on wild goose chases in the two states
which currently have a law like the one Sen. Schumer wants,” Pratt
said.

“Truly, the only thing ballistic registration will accomplish is to
set up a system where police can invade the privacy of law-abiding
gun owners. Registration has been used in other countries — and in

this country, as in New York City — to help police confiscate
firearms from law-abiding gun owners,” Pratt said.

“Gun registration is a dangerous idea that should be abandoned,”
Pratt concluded.

-GOA-

Erich Pratt is the Director of Communications for Gun Owners of
America, a national gun lobby with over 300,000 members located at
8001 Forbes Place, Springfield, VA 22151 and at
http://www.gunowners.org on the web.

Either Erich Pratt or another GOA spokesman is available for press
interviews.