NRA: Joint Statement On Ballistic “Fingerprinting”
Wayne LaPierre
Executive Vice-President National Rifle Association
&
Chris W. Cox
Executive Director, National Rifle Association – Institute for Legislative
Action
… Ballistic “fingerprinting” is a misleading phrase, because human
fingerprints or DNA or other biometric data can’t be altered. But ballistic
abrasion patterns can change for a variety of reasons. Still, for ballistic
“fingerprinting” to work as proposed, all of the following assumptions must
materialize:
That the firearm barrel and firing pin have not been modified, replaced,
deformed from normal use, or intentionally falsified with new ballistic
markings.
That all 200 million firearms lawfully possessed by Americans are brought
into labs and fired to gather individual ballistic “fingerprinting.”
That all violent criminals, and people who might become one, also bring in
their firearms for “fingerprinting.”
That all ballistic “fingerprinting” files are stored in a national
database.
That an expended bullet or shell casing be recovered from a crime scene.
That the bullet or shell casing conclusively match the ballistic
“fingerprinting” of a firearm owned by a person stored in the database.
That the firearm has not been sold, transferred, stolen or gifted to
another person.
That the person, now a criminal suspect, still possess that firearm at a
current address.
…
http://www.nraila.org/NewsCenter.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=2053