GIFFORDS Secures Win in ATF Gun Data Tracing Case
GIFFORDS Law Center Represented John Lindsay-Poland in FOIA Suit Against ATF
Washington DC — Today, GIFFORDS Law Center, the legal arm of the gun violence prevention group GIFFORDS, announced that the United States District Court for the Northern District of California has ruled in favor of its client, John Lindsay-Poland, in litigation against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). Mr. Lindsay-Poland sought firearm tracing records related to crime guns recovered in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, but ATF refused to provide that information, relying on the Tiahrt Amendment, which ATF frequently invokes to avoid releasing critical firearm trace information.
Billy Clark, Senior Litigation Attorney and Second Amendment Issues Manager:
“For too long information about trafficked firearms has been concealed from the public, all to protect a few bad actors in the gun industry from being held accountable for their misconduct. Today’s win is a victory for transparency over secrecy, and for public safety over the gun industry. And it is vitally important because it will help the public understand the ways in which U.S. gun policy harms communities beyond our borders.”
Mr. Lindsay-Poland is also represented by the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
More on the Tiahrt Amendment:
Named for its sponsor, US Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), the Tiahrt Amendment is a provision that has been attached to US Department of Justice appropriations bills since 2003. ATF has claimed that the Tiahrt Amendment prohibits it from releasing firearm trace data that could be used by cities, states, researchers, litigants and members of the public to better understand and address gun trafficking and gun violence.
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