By Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Reacting to the a revealing story published by the Washington Times that questioned the necessity of asking race and ethnicity questions on the Federal Form 4473 to purchase a firearm, two members of Congress have introduced legislation that would outlaw the practice.
Reps. Diane Black (R-TN) and Ted Poe (R-TX) have introduced the FIREARM (Freedom from Intrusive Regulatory Enforcement of Arbitrary Registration) Act. It is a very simple, two-page bill that prohibits the federal government from requiring disclosure of race or ethnicity when purchasing a firearm.
The issue came up with a Washington Times story that revealed this effort had been stepped up by the Obama administration in 2012, based on a reporting standard adopted by the Clinton administration. The questions are now among the first things asked of prospective gun buyers on the Form 4473, which is used to determine whether someone is legally able to purchase a firearm via the National Instant Check System (NICS).
In a statement released by Black’s office, she noted, “This requirement by the ATF is highly intrusive and unnecessary. Failing to adhere to this requirement by not checking all of the correct boxes on the 4473 Form is considered an ATF violation that can be so severe as to result in the gun dealer being shut down for having incomplete purchaser forms. This is causing a headache for many firearms retailers and this commonsense legislation would simply stop the federal government from requiring businesses and consumers to comply with this ‘race and ethnicity standard.’”
In the same press release, Congressman Poe added, “Washington bureaucrats have no business requiring citizens who are lawfully purchasing firearms to disclose their race or ethnicity. Under this rule, both gun dealers and purchasers face the threat of federal prosecution for not disclosing race or ethnicity on a form. This is an intrusive and unnecessary requirement. As long as the gun is purchased lawfully, race or ethnicity should be irrelevant.”
There has been no explanation why this information is being gathered. Thursday morning on the Fox News Network’s “Fox and Friends,” senior legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano said that in his opinion, it is none of the government’s business.
New Jersey attorney Evan Nappen is quoted by the newspaper raising a serious question that nobody in the gun prohibition lobby seems inclined to answer. After observing that requiring this information is offensive, Nappen added, “If there’s no need for an amendment, then there’s usually a political reason for the change. What this indicates is it was done for political reasons, not law enforcement reasons.”
The Form 4473 currently in use for any firearms transfer requires that gun buyers – and soon, if Initiative 594 passes in Washington State, anyone borrowing or inheriting or receiving a firearm as a gift, with a few narrow exceptions – must identify themselves as Hispanic/Latino or not. Then, in a separate box, the gun recipient must further identify himself/herself by race.
According to the Washington Time story, “Requiring the race and ethnic information of gun buyers is not required by federal law and provides little law enforcement value, legal experts say. And gun industry officials worry about how the information is being used and whether it constitutes an unnecessary intrusion on privacy.”
