Mayor lobbies for gun trace bill

BY GLENN THRUSH | Newsday Washington Bureau

May 17, 2006

WASHINGTON - Mayor Michael Bloomberg is backing Sen. Charles Schumer's bill giving local police access to federal gun tracing databases - and is blasting opponents of the plan as "soft on crime."

Bloomberg, who is suing 15 out-of-state gun shops for illegally selling firearms, wants to give cities the ability to file lawsuits against gun makers.

The gun trace database, maintained by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, is critical because it can be used to link manufacturers and dealers to specific crimes. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says it's also needed for prosecutions.

So far, the GOP-controlled Congress has blocked Bloomberg's efforts, passing annual legislation barring access. This session, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and other allies of the National Rifle Association are pushing a bill that would make the ban permanent.

"If Congress is going to coddle criminals we're going to shout it from the rooftops," said Bloomberg, a Republican, during a Capitol Hill news conference. "We simply cannot afford a Congress that is soft on crime."

The bill introduced by Schumer (D-N.Y.) has virtually no chance of passing, but Bloomberg's appearance enraged fellow Republicans.

"Bloomberg is a puppet for the gun control advocates," said Chuck Knapp, a spokesman for Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), who backs the database ban.

The National Rifle Association's top lobbyist, Christopher Cox, said giving local departments access could jeopardize investigations and endanger cops, citing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' opposition to releasing its list. He went on to criticize Kelly, who gave local departments the data when he oversaw ATF operations as Customs Service chief during the Clinton administration.

"I'll take ATF's word over one of Bloomberg's stooges," Cox said of the commissioner.

The mayor also met with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who supports the Schumer bill and lobbied four Senate Republicans against strict eminent-domain measures.