Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) introduced a bill this week that would prevent the federal government from compiling a backdoor gun registry.
Known as the “No Retaining Every Gun In a System That Restricts Your (REGISTRY) Rights Act,” it would require the federal government to destroy firearms transaction records of gun shops (FFLs) that have gone out of business.
Currently, the government stores these records indefinitely.
The Biden administration continues to threaten the rights of law-abiding Americans.
— Congressman Michael Cloud (@RepCloudTX) March 8, 2022
Texas gun owners are rightfully concerned that this administration is willing and able to create a federal gun registry, and it’s Congress’ job to ensure that doesn’t happen. https://t.co/f151tPnjvM
It’s estimated that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has approximately 1 billion firearms transaction records in its possession, as GunsAmerica previously reported.
Roughly, 94 percent of those records have been digitized.
The ATF disclosed this information about the capture of sales records just last month, after a back and forth with concerned lawmakers, which is undoubtedly what prompted Rep. Cloud to pen the REGISTRY Rights Act, along with the forty-four other Republicans who co-sponsored the legislation.
The bill would also block the ATF from changing a longstanding regulation that allows FFLs to destroy sales records after 20 years.
SEE ALSO: ATF Admits It Has Nearly 1 Billion Gun Records, GOP Lawmakers Ask, ‘How Is This Not a Registry?’
The ATF is pushing to force FFLs to hang on to all their sales records indefinitely, which means that unless a gun store stays open forever, eventually, all records will end up in the hands of the federal government.
“The Biden administration continues to threaten the rights of law-abiding Americans while turning a blind-eye to criminals and corruption,” Cloud said in a statement to The Texan. “Texas gun owners are rightfully concerned that this administration is willing and able to create a federal gun registry, and it’s Congress’ job to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
“My bill would dismantle ATF’s database as a whole—restoring privacy for American gun owners and reversing the steps taken by the Biden administration to create a federal firearms registry,” Cloud continued.
The legislation would also require the ATF to disclose the number of records it destroys per the bill.
Co-sponsors include Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX-21), Jake Ellzey (R-TX-06), Randy Weber (R-TX-14), Louie Gohmert (R-TX-01), Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13) and Brian Babin (R-TX-36).
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of steam, if any, it generates in the Democratically-controlled House. We’ll keep you posted.