BRADY PUBLISHES LARGEST SEARCHABLE DATABASE OF ATF INSPECTION REPORTS          EVER RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC

 

Brady’s Gun Store Transparency Project Includes Over 2,000 ATF Gun Store Inspection Records Illustrating Why Improved Oversight and Regulation of Gun Dealers Is Critical

https://www.bradyunited.org/press-releases/largest-database-atf-inspection-reports-gun-store

Washington, D.C., January 19, 2022 - Today, Brady launches the largest searchable database of ATF Inspection Reports ever released to the public. Brady’s Gun Store Transparency Project, found at GunStoreTransparency.org, contains 2,212 reports from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), where ATF took administrative action against federal firearms licensees found to be in violation of the law. Users can visually explore this data, viewing documents by geographic location, by violation type, and by year. This site is a living project that will be updated with new reports and information that Brady continues to receive from ATF.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“This database reveals that when ATF inspects gun dealers and finds serious violations, it rarely takes decisive action to reform or shut them down. Americans, and particularly Black and Brown Americans, pay for this lack of enforcement with their lives. The information in this database is even more important after a year of record-setting gun violence - violence that we know is fueled by easy access to guns that are negligently or willfully sold unlawfully by gun dealers.

By making public ATF gun dealer inspection reports we can spotlight the role that meaningful inspections and enforcement can have in reforming the bad actors in the industry and uplift the important actions of the overwhelming majority of gun dealers who follow and go above and beyond the law in order to keep gun owners and our communities safe.

Brady fought in court for these records, and they are now the property of the American public through Brady’s database. Our hope is that every lawmaker, reporter, and researcher uses this site to help improve inspections. This is a clarion call to federal leaders to act; to state and local leaders to act; and to all of us to pay attention to the common-sense solutions we can implement right now to save lives.”

Brady Senior Counsel and Director of Programs Josh Scharff shared:

“The gun lobby has worked for decades to stop the publication of valuable data about the sources of crime guns, and also to weaken federal efforts to inspect, reform, and enforce the law against firearms businesses that choose profit over public safety. These inspection reports provide new insight into some of the businesses that have not followed the laws designed to ensure the safe transfer of firearms and combat illegal gun trafficking, as well as what, if anything, the federal government is doing about it. The public owns and has a right to this information. If our nation is going to end gun violence, we must address the supply of crime guns and meaningfully act to prevent guns from flowing into the criminal market and then into our communities. Brady’s project will help to shed a light on the need for urgent reform, action, and modernization. When over 100 people every day die from gun violence, taking action to enforce the law through improved gun store inspections must be a top priority for every elected official at every level of government nationwide.”

About Brady’s Gun Store Transparency Project:

Brady has been defending the victims of gun violence in court and pushing for comprehensive and effective federal, state, and local oversight of the gun industry for decades. Beginning in 2017, Brady filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain federal inspection reports where ATF took administrative action against gun stores cited for violating the law. Ultimately when the records were not produced by ATF, Brady took action in court to force production and has received over 55,000 pages to date of these reports. This database includes and builds upon the documents used in investigations conducted by USA Today and The Trace in 2021, The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and others. This database is the most comprehensive and detailed collection of ATF inspection reports ever released publicly, and will continue to grow as Brady obtains new reports from ATF.

Fast Facts About The Documents And Data On This Site:

·       2,212 ATF inspection reports obtained and processed by Brady

·       130,525 active federal firearms licensees, as of Fiscal Year 2020.

·       5,827 firearm compliance inspections conducted by ATF in Fiscal Year 2020

·       0.7% of licensees inspected in Fiscal Year 2020 had their licenses revoked

 

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Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.

                                                                                                                 

 BRADY CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION TO STOP GUN VIOLENCE FOLLOWING SHOOTING AT TIMBERVIEW HIGH SCHOOL IN ARLINGTON, TEXAS

Washington, D.C., October 6, 2021 - Following the shooting at Mansfield Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas, Brady reiterates the need for action at the state, federal and local level to stop gun violence and school shootings. All leaders at every level of government need to take note of this tragic shooting and act at once, particularly Texas Governor Greg Abbott who has aggressively and egregiously rolled back common-sense and popular gun violence prevention protections.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“It is unacceptable that our young people live in fear and under the threat of gun violence in their schools. As was already reported this year, school shootings have increased since students returned to school this fall after a year of remote learning and already in 2021 there have been over 330 incidents involving firearms in schools across the country. We will learn more about this shooting, but we do know that solutions to prevent gun violence, and the conflict that spirals into violence, exist. It is why we continue to join calls for community violence intervention funding, as such programs operate with and within communities, including in schools, to prevent and mediate conflict. We need that investment at the federal and state level.

Unfortunately, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has made Texas less safe, supporting rolling back laws that regulate the carry of firearms in public spaces and opposing overwhelming popular and common-sense gun violence prevention solutions. We cannot accept leaders who are in the pocket of the gun lobby and who will put that industry’s profits ahead of the safety of their constituents. Enough is enough.”

The Team ENOUGH Executive Council shared:

“Our generation has grown up with active shooter drills and near-constant school shootings. To say we are tired is a gross understatement. We are outraged. Texas has some of the most permissive gun laws in the country. The governor and the legislature acted this year to put more guns in public spaces. We need leaders who seek to stop the flow of guns into and the proliferation of gun violence in our communities and our schools - not ease common-sense safety restrictions that the majority of voters support. This shooting is a reminder to every elected official that our peers are dying in our schools, all while over 100 people are killed in our country every day from gun violence. This crisis demands attention. They cannot look away.”

About the Shooting:

On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, at approximately 9:15 am local time, the Arlington Police Department responded to reports of an active shooter within Mansfield Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas. Police reported to and secured the scene, reporting four injuries. Timberview High School serves approximately 1,900 students from grades nine to 12.

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