The TRACE Act to Combat the Flow of Illegal Guns

Lake View Patch

U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) will reintroduce the Trafficking Reduction and Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act, which cracks down on the illegal gun market by improving gun tracking data.  The bill also repeals the Tiahrt Amendments, which hamper law enforcement’s pursuit of criminals who buy and sell illegal guns.
“The TRACE Act is the type of commonsense gun control reform we need to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous people,” said Rep. Quigley. “Our law enforcement officials face a sea of illegal weapons flooding our streets, but the TRACE Act will close the loopholes that allow criminals to obtain illicit guns and choke off the supply to traffickers.”
“For nearly a decade, the Tiahrt restrictions have hampered our nation’s law enforcement officials and kept the public in the dark about gun traffickers. By removing these dangerous restrictions, this bill goes a long way toward restoring access to critical gun data that can help protect our communities,” said Mark Glaze, Director of the bipartisan coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
“I want to thank Congressman Quigley for his continued efforts in the fight to end gun violence in America, and I urge lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to follow his lead,” Glaze continued.
"Congressman Quigley is to be commended for his leadership on this issue," said Dan Gross, President of the Brady Campaign. "Now more than ever, we need leaders like Congressman Quigley who can stand up and help us to fight for the comprehensive proposals put forth by the White House.  There is no one solution to this epidemic of violence but the TRACE Act is an important piece of that effort.  We applaud the Congressman for introducing it now."
While criminals often obtain guns on the black market, those guns generally originate from licensed dealers.

Let's repeat that last idea. Almost all guns in criminal hands started out the legal property of someone. It's not important if criminals buy guns on the black market from other criminals, what's important is how those guns moved from lawful ownership to criminal.
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