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Is The Government Maintaining Gun Records On You?

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The government is not supposed to be maintaining records concerning you and guns.  Why?  Because it sets up a scenario in which they could theoretically begin putting together a gun registry is such records are being maintained, and in the past, I’ve written where there are indications that to some extent, the government is maintaining gun records on those who see to make purchases.

With that said, I ran across an interview with James Bardwell, in-house attorney for the National Association for Gun Rights, who explained what gun records government is actually allowed to keep for a limited time on people and how you can discover what the government has on you.

The following questions were posed by a reader of Gunpowder Magazine:

“Is it possible to ascertain just what precise records the government may actually have (and keeps somewhere) on any individual (including myself) regarding past purchases of firearms that have taken place since the background check system(s) have been in place?

“Is there a readily available source online where one could check? Or does one have to file an actual ‘Freedom of Information Act’ request to obtain such records on himself or anyone else?”

In response, Bardwell said, “You can request records pertaining to yourself from whatever agency you think has them. This is pursuant to the federal Privacy Act.”

Bardwell then pointed people to a link that explains how this process works:  https://foia.blogs.archives.gov/2012/10/26/reconciling-foia-and-the-privacy-act/.

“You will need to provide proof of identity,” said Bardwell.  “If there is indexing info, such as records that might be under your SSN or something besides your name, you have to provide that, too. Some records may be withheld, such as records related to an active criminal investigation. Names of informants/other persons in the records may be also be censored out.”

“Under federal law, information on persons who pass a NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) check to buy a firearm are not supposed to be maintained by the federal government,” Bardwell added.  “Information on persons who fail a check can be maintained.”

Mr. Bardwell then continued, “For a NICS check, the dealer does not provide any information on the firearm being purchased beyond whether it is a long gun, a handgun, or any other firearm (like a receiver, or certain NFA firearms). That information is with the dealer, unless they go out of business. So the only info on specific purchased firearms would be at ATF relative to NFA firearms, if a person has some registered to them, or information as to a multiple handgun purchase that was reported to ATF by the dealer.”

He then concluded with additionally records that are also provided to the government.

“FFL out of business records are provided to ATF also, by dealers when they go out of business. However, they are supposedly not indexed by buyer’s name, so a Privacy Act request for those would have to be via other means, like the make, model, and serial number of the firearm and the dealer’s name and might involve a lot of search time,” Bardwell said.

FOIA requests are taking longer and longer to receive a response to as we’ve been seeing in FOIA lawsuits by government watchdog Judicial Watch.  However, it might be worth your time just to see exactly what the government is maintaining on you and whether they are in keeping with the law or violating it.

Article posted with permission from Sons Of Liberty Media


Tim Brown

Tim Brown is a Christian and lover of liberty, a husband to his "more precious than rubies" wife, father of 10 "mighty arrows" and jack of all trades. He lives in the US-Occupied State of South Carolina, is the Editor at SonsOfLibertyMedia.com, GunsInTheNews.com and TheWashingtonStandard.com. and SettingBrushfires.com; and also broadcasts on The Sons of Liberty radio weekdays at 6am EST and Saturdays at 8am EST. Follow Tim on Twitter. Also check him out on Gab, Minds, and USALife.
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