High Court to Hear Challenge to Gun Record Secrecy

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear the Bush administration’s claim that the government’s national data on guns used in crimes need not be turned over to lawyers for the city of Chicago, which is suing the gun industry.

The case, to be heard early next year, highlights the continuing dispute over whether gun records should be public or private.

Chicago lawyers and anti-gun activists say that the government’s tracking of guns used in crimes should be made available to the public, just like other crime records.

“This is about the public’s right to know about illegal gun-trafficking,” said Matt Nosanchuk, a lawyer for the Violence Policy Center, which advocates for gun control.

The Freedom of Information Act allows outsiders to obtain unclassified government records, and Chicago’s lawyers say such data will help build their case against the gun industry.

Four years ago, Chicago sued a number of gun makers and sellers on the theory they created a “public nuisance” in the city. Since 1982, it has banned the buying of new handguns in the city.

Chicago’s lawyers contend the gun industry has deliberately sabotaged the city’s efforts.

“They flooded the market around the city, and that facilitated the criminal market in the city,” said Jennifer Hoyle, a spokeswoman for Chicago’s city law department.

To bolster their claim, the city’s lawyers sought data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Two types of data were at issue. The first “traces” a firearm that is used in a crime. About 200,000 times per year, ATF tracks a weapon from its manufacturer to its seller to first buyer.

A second database cites purchasers of two or more guns within five days.

When Chicago asked for the data, the ATF agreed to turn over records involving gun crimes in Chicago and multiple gun sales to residents of Chicago. It refused, however, to go further and turn over national data.

Chicago then went to federal court to challenge this decision under the Freedom of Information Act.

The national data “is not necessarily crucial to our lawsuit, but we think it would be helpful,” said Hoyle.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration and the National Rifle Assn. maintain that these federal records should be held in private since they contain personal information about buyers and sellers of guns.

The U.S. appeals court in Chicago said the city was entitled to all the data, but the administration appealed.

“Compelled release of the names and addresses withheld by the ATF

The government can shield ordinary records of criminal investigations, Olson said, so it makes no sense to say the government must reveal these records.

The case does not directly concern the 2nd Amendment, but top administration officials said earlier this year they believe this amendment gives law-abiding individuals a constitutional right to have a gun.

If this view of the law stands, Chicago’s ordinance could be challenged and struck down.

It is also possible that Chicago’s bid to obtain the gun records could be blocked by the Republican-led Congress.

In July, a House appropriations committee added an amendment that would bar the ATF from releasing the type of gun records sought by Chicago’s lawyers. If this measure is also adopted by the Senate and signed into law, it would prevent the disclosure of the data.