Judge clears way for city’s gun lawsuit

Only days after mayors from across the country gathered to discuss the problem of gun control, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has claimed a victory in the city’s war against illegal firearms.
On April 27, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York removed a potential impediment to the city’s public nuisance lawsuit against 13 gun manufacturers and 27 distributors. The court maintained that recent legislation by Congress to restrict the use of gun trace data, also known as the Tiahrt Amendment, does not apply to data already in the city’s possession.
This data, statistics from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms database, provides a direct link between gun manufacturers and distributor sales practices to the widespread availability of illegal guns on the city’s streets.
“This important data demonstrates that gun manufacturers and distributors can determine which of their retail dealers are selling the guns that wind up being used in crime on the city’s streets,” said Bloomberg. “It’s only common sense that this data should be admitted as evidence and we’re pleased that the Federal Court has agreed. This is an important step forward in our fight to get illegal guns off our streets. It’s particularly great news just two days after mayors from around the country joined us in launching a new national effort against illegal guns.”
At the behest of the gun industry lobby, Congress had recently passed a series of appropriations amendments, with no debate or public hearings, designed to restrict the availability of gun trace data. This decision by the District Court states that the restrictions in the statute do not prevent the city from introducing into evidence gun trace data lawfully obtained before the statute’s enactment.