Two Republican lawmakers have introduced a federal measure that would prohibit states, localities, or any other organization from using federal funding and background check information to maintain gun registries.
On February 25, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Mississippi, and U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, reintroduced S 3916, the Gun-owner Registration Information Protection (GRIP) Act. The measure would clarify existing law prohibiting states or local entities from using federal funds to store or disclose sensitive, personal information related to the legal ownership or possession of firearms.
“The Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens remain imperiled as Democrats and anti-gun activists lean into government overreach, Sen. Hyde-Smith said in a news release announcing the bill. “The GRIP Act is needed to clarify that states and localities cannot use federal funds or data to keep gun registries that can lead to infringing on a constitutional right.”
As Rep. Gosar pointed out, the Second Amendment is not a “second-class right,” and shouldn’t be treated like one.
“The GRIP Act safeguards constitutional freedoms and protects the privacy of millions of law-abiding Americans,” Rep. Gosar said.
In a nutshell, the GRIP Act would ensure that the federal government does not, either intentionally or otherwise, support state or local efforts to collect and store personally identifiable information related to lawful firearm purchases and ownership. Current law already prevents the federal government from storing information acquired during the firearms background check process.
Several gun-rights groups, including the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearms industry trade association, were quick to praise the legislation and lend their support.
“This is much-needed legislation to protect the privacy of those who choose to lawfully exercise their Second Amendment rights when they purchase a firearm at retail,” said Lawrence G. Keanen, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “The GRIP Act will ensure federal funds aren’t available to create and maintain state government watchlists that are ripe for privacy abuse by malevolent actors, much the same way private banking information was illegally abused by government authorities in the previous administration. NSSF is grateful to Senator Hyde-Smith for her leadership to protect the privacy and the Second Amendment rights of lawful gun-owning Americans.”
Original cosponsors of Sen. Hyde-Smith’s 119th Congress measure include Republican U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Jim Justice of West Virginia, Ted Budd of North Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas, James Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Steve Daines of Montana, and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska. U.S. Representatives Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) and Michael Guest (R-Miss.) are among 75 original cosponsors of Gosar’s companion legislation, which is named HR 7678.
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