Low-Tech Gun Tracing Costly, Laborious – ABC News.

Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley

Ever wonder just how far reaching NRA’s clout is? I was watching ABC Nightly News today (Friday, April 12) and an extremely interesting news item came on. I’m not sure if David Kerley was the on-air reporter, but he is the reporter of the article LINKED in this blog post.

The point of the news item is that NRA has lobbied all these years to keep gun identification from being put on computer. Everything at the ATF is done by hand. Forms and all paperwork is backed up onto microfilm, but absolutely nothing at the headquarters of ATF is on computers. They are not allowed to create a database of this information.

While the buyer’s background might be checked by the FBI, the only record of the actual “sale” is a gun dealer’s paper form.

As the news item (LINK) mentions, this antiquated way of doing things has cost us (the taxpayers) an estimated $60 million in the past 12 years.

So click on the LINK and read why the ATF is banned from being more efficient because members of Congress, backed by the NRA, won’t let them.

Better yet, click on the LINK and then call Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley and ask him why he thinks letting ATF computerize gun sales forms wouldn’t be “legitimate.”

Here’s how to reach him: 135 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3744