# Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act

This bill would remove several restrictions that currently limit how the federal government can collect and use information about firearms. Right now, a set of rules called the Tiahrt Amendments prevent federal authorities from keeping detailed records about gun sales and traces. This bill would essentially undo those restrictions to give law enforcement and researchers better access to gun data.

Specifically, the bill would change four main things. First, it would allow the federal government to keep background check records longer than the current 24-hour requirement—meaning records of who tried to buy guns and whether they were approved or denied would be preserved for investigation purposes. Second, it would let the government require gun dealers to physically count and verify their inventory regularly to catch missing or stolen firearms. Third, it would allow federal authorities to consolidate gun purchase and sale records from licensed dealers into a searchable database. Fourth, it would remove restrictions on Freedom of Information Act requests about gun traces and firearm-related incidents, meaning journalists and researchers could more easily access this information.

The bill's supporters argue these changes would help law enforcement track illegal gun trafficking and stolen weapons, since studies show that many guns used in crimes were originally stolen or illegally transferred. They point to research suggesting that current restrictions make it harder to understand how guns flow from states with loose gun laws to states with stricter ones, and that removing these barriers could help prevent gun violence. However, gun rights advocates typically oppose such measures, arguing they could lead to de facto gun registries that infringe on Second Amendment rights. The practical effect would be that law enforcement would have better tools to investigate gun crimes, while more information about gun transactions would become available to researchers and potentially the public.

Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act

Lee, Barbara

Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act This bill amends several appropriations laws to remove limitations on the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to conduct activities related to the administration of federal firearms laws. Specifically, the bill removes provisions that <ul> <li>limit the use of firearms tracing data, </li> <li>limit the disclosure of data under the Freedom of Information Act, </li> <li>prohibit imposing a requirement that gun dealers conduct a physical inventory, </li> <li>prohibit consolidating or centralizing records maintained by federal firearm licensees (e.g., gun dealers), and </li> <li>require national instant criminal background check records to be destroyed within 24 hours. </li> </ul>