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Bill Offered to Give FBI Access to Gun Records

Josey1Josey1 Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
edited December 2001 in General Discussion
Bill Offered to Give FBI Access to Gun RecordsDecember 7, 2001 6:56 pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day after U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft told Congress existing law does not allow the FBI to compare the names of suspected terrorists with federal gun purchase records, two senators introduced a bill on Friday to allow such action."It makes no sense to deny these records to the FBI in its ongoing investigation of the atrocities of September 11th," Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts said in a statement.Kennedy joined Sen. Charles Schumer of New York in offering the measure. Both are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, before which Ashcroft testified on Thursday.The attorney general, in defending his decision to block the FBI from using gun documents in its probe of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, said the law does not allow investigators to review the federal records created when a buyer applies to buy a firearm.His stand drew angry words from a number of Democrats, who noted the former U.S. Republican senator from Missouri has been a longtime defender of gun rights.Asked at Thursday's hearing if he wanted the FBI to have the power to review gun records in its terror investigation, Ashcroft said he would not comment on "a hypothetical," but would be "happy to consider" any such legislation that would enable it to do so.Kennedy said on Friday the bill he and Schumer offered would do that, and called on the administration to back it.Meanwhile, the Justice Department said it would review the regulations on accessing gun-purchase records.A Justice Department official told reporters on Friday he would check with the FBI and other agencies to see if they thought there was an "operational need" to warrant a change in the law."We are continuing this top to bottom review, so we will take a look at it now that the question has been raised," the official said. http://news1.iwon.com/article/id/192897|politics|12-07-2001::18:58|reuters.html

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