Clinton Unveils Web Site to Check Gun Sale Licenses

President Clinton, acting to curb illegal gun sales, said Saturday that the government is turning to the Internet to make it harder to use fake firearms licenses to acquire weapons via computer or mail.

“Unfortunately, the Internet, despite all its benefits, is making it easier for guns to fall into the wrong hands. There are now 4,000 firearm sales-related sites on the Internet, and there are 80 sites where you can actually buy a gun at an auction,” Clinton said in his weekly radio address.

“Clearly, we must do more to ensure that every sale over the Internet is legal and that no one uses the anonymity of cyberspace to evade our nation’s gun laws.”

The government has set up a Web site, known as FFL eZ Check, for online federal firearms license authentication.

Under current law, licensed dealers can only ship firearms to other licensed dealers. Sellers are required to obtain a certified copy of the federal firearms license of the individual buying the guns. Criminals, however, have gotten around this requirement by using forged licenses.

The Web site, created by the Treasury Department and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, will allow licensed gun dealers to quickly verify the validity of licenses presented for purchase or shipment of guns. It can be accessed from the ATF site, https://www.atf.treas.gov/.

Over the last several years, ATF has documented a sizable illegal market in guns fed by corrupt federally licensed dealers, straw purchasers and unlicensed gun sellers, said Deputy Treasury Secretary Stuart Eizenstat.

Licensees are now required to obtain copies of licenses from purchasers before making a shipment, but they do not have to ensure that the licenses are valid.

The new rule, which will take effect next year after public comment, will require licensed dealers to verify the licenses through eZ Check and to report people who are trying to obtain guns with invalid licenses, the White House said.

On Capitol Hill, the fourth-ranking House Republican said the plan “sounds like a step in the right direction.” Rep. J.C. Watts Jr. of Oklahoma, chairman of the House Republican Conference, added, “It’s important for the federal government to prosecute criminals while protecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.”

In their radio address Saturday, Republicans in Congress appealed to Clinton to agree to use 90% of next year’s federal surplus for debt reduction, a goal that has become the GOP’s top preelection budget theme.

“While we may not agree on all aspects of the budget, we can at the very least do something on which we can all agree: reduce the debt and strengthen Social Security and Medicare now and in the future,” House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois said in the weekly address, given with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi.

They said their proposal would ensure that the surpluses of Social Security and Medicare are used only for debt reduction while also strengthening the economy.

The leaders’ remarks spotlighted the turnaround that the GOP has executed in its budget goals as the November presidential and congressional elections approach. Until recently, their highest-profile battle with Clinton had been their losing fight over cutting taxes, a fight in which the president vetoed GOP tax cuts for many married couples and for people who inherit large estates.