Dear Conservative,

Two years ago, Barack Obama and the ATF made a change to the way that Americans purchase firearms.

To buy a gun from a licensed gun shop, purchasers need to fill out what is known as a Form 4473. This is the background check form that is sent to the FBI for the so-called “instant” check.

Since 1968, gun buyers have been forced to list their race on this form. But it has only been two years since the Obama administration added a mandatory ‘ethnicity’ portion of the form. In order to buy a gun, you need to tell the government what race and ethnicity you are and if you lie on this form, you do so under penalty of perjury.

This has gone largely unnoticed, except the ATF has now started threatening gun shops with fines and charges if customers don’t completely and correctly fill out these background check forms.

When asked recently why the government needs to know the race and ethnicity of gun purchasers, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) remarked that these questions are required for the collection of “racial data.”

The government wants this data for statistical purposes. There is NO statutory reason to gather ethnicity data. The original Gun Control Act of 1968 does not allow the ATF to collect ethnicity data. But the Obama administration is collecting the data anyway!

Tell Congress to pass the FIREARM Act and STOP the Obama administration from creating a gun owner race and ethnicity database!

Representatives Diane Black (R-TN) and Ted Poe (R-TX) have introduced the Freedom from Intrusive Regulatory Enforcement of Arbitrary Registration Mandates (FIREARM) Act. Not exactly the shortest title, but the legislation is remarkably simple.

This isn’t a bill laden with pork. There isn’t anything hidden in the text that someone is trying to sneak through. The FIREARM Act has a total of 11 lines of text and has essentially one sentence:

“The Federal Government may not require any person to disclose the race or ethnicity of the person in connection with the transfer of a firearm to the person.”

That’s it. Pretty common sense, no? Think about all the people who buy firearms on a given day... in a given year.

Now ask yourself why the government needs to know the racial and ethnic data of all these purchasers.

Liberals are claiming that the race information is necessary to complete the background checks and to prevent false misidentification. But that’s what the social security number portion of the form is for!

The only reason that the Obama administration changed the gun background check form to record ethnicity and race is to record that information!

The federal government is collecting records of racial and ethnic data of gun owners, and that needs to stop!

Barack Obama has made it known that his inability to pass gun control has been his greatest regret. Well, this small change has been one way that the Obama administration has been able to institute a gun registry without Congress!

Tell Congress to pass the FIREARM Act and STOP the Obama administration from creating a gun owner race and ethnicity database!

There is no good reason for the government to be collecting this data. It serves no law enforcement purpose whatsoever and must be changed NOW!

This is common sense. There is a piece of legislation that can fix this immediately.

All it takes is for you to get loud, raise your voice, and DEMAND that this illegal and unnecessary firearm data collection program be stopped!

Joe Otto

Conservative Daily