[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 133 (Thursday, October 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10375-S10377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KOHL (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. 
        Reed):
  S. 3096. A bill to amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, 
to require ballistics testing of all firearms manufactured and all 
firearms in custody of Federal agencies; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleagues Senator 
Feinstein, Senator Schumer, and Senator Reed to introduce ``BLAST'', 
the Ballistics, Law Assistance, and Safety Technology Act.
  Never before have the tremendous law enforcement benefits of 
ballistics testing been so apparent. We have the technology to 
``fingerprint'' every new gun, and if we were using it today, we would 
be well on our way toward stopping the serial killer who even now is 
preying on the residents of suburban Washington.
  Every gun has a unique ``fingerprint'', the distinct patterns left on 
spent casings and bullets after it is fired. What we need to do is 
create a comprehensive library of the ballistic images of all new guns 
sold in the U.S. as they come off the assembly line and a library of 
the images of all guns used in crimes. With those libraries in place, 
new technology would allow us to compare those ``gun prints'' with 
bullets found at crime scenes, bullets like those found from the 
Washington area sniper's gun.
  By keeping a computerized image of each new gun's fingerprint, police 
can compare the microscopic differences in markings left by each gun 
until they find a match. Once a match is found, law enforcement can 
begin tracing that weapon from its original sale to the person who used 
it to commit the crime.
  Police tell of solving multiple crimes simply by comparing bullets 
and shell casings found at the scene of a crime to a gun seized in a 
seemingly unrelated incident. Let me explain how ballistics testing 
works and how our measure is crucial to the fight against crime.
  The only evidence at the scene of a recent brutal homicide in 
Milwaukee was 9 millimeter cartridge casings, there were no other 
clues. But four months later, when a teenage male was arrested on an 
unrelated charge, he was found to be in possession of the firearm that 
had discharged those casings. Ballistics linked the two cases. 
Prosecutors successfully prosecuted three adult suspects for the 
homicide and convicted the teen in juvenile court.

[[Page S10376]]

  On September 9, 2000, several suspects were arrested in Boston for 
the illegal possession of three handguns. Each of the guns was test 
fired, and the ballistics information was compared to evidence found at 
other crime scenes. The police quickly found that the three guns were 
used in the commission of 15 felonies in Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island. This routine arrest for illegal possession of firearms provided 
police with new leads in the investigation of 15 unsolved crimes. 
Without the ballistics testing, these crimes would not have been linked 
and might have never been solved.
  Since the early 1990's, more than 250 crime labs and law enforcement 
agencies in more than 40 states have been operating independent 
ballistics systems maintained by either the ATF or the FBI. Together, 
ATF's Integrated Ballistics Identification System, ``IBIS'', and the 
FBI's DRUGFIRE system have been responsible for linking 5,700 guns to 
two or more crimes where corroborating evidence was otherwise lacking.
  While success stories are increasingly frequent, the potential of 
ballistics testing is still untapped. One way that the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is making ballistics testing more 
accessible to State and local law enforcement is through the 
installation of a new network of ballistics imaging machines. The final 
introduction of the machines across the country is almost complete and, 
once it is, the computers will be able to access each other and search 
for a greater number of images. The National Integrated Ballistics 
Information network, better know as ``NIBIN,'' will permit law 
enforcement in one locality access to information stored in other gun 
crime databases around the entire country. This will help law 
enforcement exponentially in their efforts to solve gun crimes.
  But ballistics testing is only as useful as the number of images in 
the database. Today, almost all jurisdictions are limited to images of 
bullets and cartridge casings that come from guns used in crimes. Our 
bill would dramatically expand the scope of that database by mandating 
that all guns manufactured or imported would be test fired before being 
placed into the stream of commerce. The images collected from the test 
firing would then be collected and accessible to law enforcement, and 
law enforcement only, for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting 
gun crimes.
  As local, State and Federal law enforcement authorities search for 
the deranged murderer who has been terrorizing the Washington D.C. 
metropolitan area, they are using ballistics testing to determine 
whether the bullets and shell casings found at the scene of each crime 
are from the same gun. They can then identify the gun, giving them a 
better idea of what, and who, they are looking for in their manhunt. 
Had the gun used in these crimes been subject to a test fire before 
being placed in the stream of commerce, authorities would be able to 
identify the gun based on the bullets and casings. With that 
information, law enforcement could then trace the sale and transfer of 
the firearm in an effort to identify the owner of the gun and solve the 
crime.
  Today, police can find out more about a human being than they can 
about a gun used in a crime. Law enforcement can use DNA testing, take 
fingerprints and blood samples, search a person's health records, 
peruse bank records and credit card statements, obtain phone records 
and get a list of book purchases to link a suspect to a crime. Yet, the 
bullets found at the scene of a crime often cannot be traced back to 
the gun used because our ballistics images database is not 
comprehensive. We are unnecessarily limiting law enforcement's ability 
to track the criminals who have used guns in the commission of a crime. 
The BLAST bill will change all that. by making gun crimes easier to 
solve, all of us will be safer.
  The burden on manufacturers is minimal, we authorize funds to 
underwrite the cost of testing, and the assistance to law enforcement 
is considerable. And don't take my word for it, ask the gun 
manufacturers and the police. Listen to what Paul Januzzo, the vice-
president of the gun manufacturer Glock, said in reference to 
ballistics testing, ``our mantra has been that the issue is crime 
control, not gun control . . . it would be two-faced of us not to want 
this.'' In their agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, Smith & Wesson agreed to perform ballistics testing on all 
new handguns. And Ben Wilson, the chief of the firearms section at ATF, 
emphasized the importance of ballistics testing as a investigative 
device, ``This [ballistics] allows you literally to find a needle in a 
haystack.''
  To be sure, we are sensitive to the notion that law abiding hunters 
and sportsmen need to be protected from any misuse of the ballistics 
database by government. The BLAST bill explicitly prohibits ballistics 
information from being used for any purpose unless it is necessary for 
the investigation of a gun crime.
  The BLAST bill will enhance a revolutionary new technology that helps 
solve crime. BLAST is a worthwhile piece of crime control legislation. 
I hope that the Senate will quickly move to pass it.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 3096

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Ballistics, Law Assistance, 
     and Safety Technology Act'' or the ``BLAST Act''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to increase public safety by assisting law enforcement 
     in solving more gun-related crimes and offering prosecutors 
     evidence to link felons to gun crimes through ballistics 
     technology;
       (2) to provide for ballistics testing of all new firearms 
     for sale to assist in the identification of firearms used in 
     crimes;
       (3) to require ballistics testing of all firearms in 
     custody of Federal agencies to assist in the identification 
     of firearms used in crimes; and
       (4) to add ballistics testing to existing firearms 
     enforcement programs.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF BALLISTICS.

       Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(35) Ballistics.--The term `ballistics' means a 
     comparative analysis of fired bullets and cartridge casings 
     to identify the firearm from which bullets and cartridge 
     casings were discharged, through identification of the unique 
     characteristics that each firearm imprints on bullets and 
     cartridge casings.''.

      SEC. 4. TEST FIRING AND AUTOMATED STORAGE OF BALLISTICS 
                   RECORDS.

       (a) Amendment.--Section 923 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(m)(1) In addition to the other licensing requirements 
     under this section, a licensed manufacturer or licensed 
     importer shall--
       ``(A) test fire firearms manufactured or imported by such 
     licensees as specified by the Secretary by regulation;
       ``(B) prepare ballistics images of the fired bullet and 
     cartridge casings from the test fire;
       ``(C) make the records available to the Secretary for entry 
     in a computerized database; and
       ``(D) store the fired bullet and cartridge casings in such 
     a manner and for such a period as specified by the Secretary 
     by regulation.
       ``(2) Nothing in this subsection creates a cause of action 
     against any Federal firearms licensee or any other person for 
     any civil liability except for imposition of a civil penalty 
     under this section.
       ``(3)(A) The Attorney General and the Secretary shall 
     assist firearm manufacturers and importers in complying with 
     paragraph (1) through--
       ``(i) the acquisition, disposition, and upgrades of 
     ballistics equipment and bullet and cartridge casing recovery 
     equipment to be placed at or near the sites of licensed 
     manufacturers and importers;
       ``(ii) the hiring or designation of personnel necessary to 
     develop and maintain a database of ballistics images of fired 
     bullets and cartridge casings, research and evaluation;
       ``(iii) providing education about the role of ballistics as 
     part of a comprehensive firearm crime reduction strategy;
       ``(iv) providing for the coordination among Federal, State, 
     and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies and the 
     firearm industry to curb firearm-related crime and illegal 
     firearm trafficking; and
       ``(v) any other steps necessary to make ballistics testing 
     effective.
       ``(B) The Attorney General and the Secretary shall--
       ``(i) establish a computer system through which State and 
     local law enforcement agencies can promptly access ballistics 
     records stored under this subsection, as soon as such a 
     capability is available; and
       ``(ii) encourage training for all ballistics examiners.
       ``(4) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
     this subsection and annually

[[Page S10377]]

     thereafter, the Attorney General and the Secretary shall 
     submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 
     the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives a report regarding the impact of this 
     section, including--
       ``(A) the number of Federal and State criminal 
     investigations, arrests, indictments, and prosecutions of all 
     cases in which access to ballistics records provided under 
     this section served as a valuable investigative tool in the 
     prosecution of gun crimes;
       ``(B) the extent to which ballistics records are accessible 
     across jurisdictions; and
       ``(C) a statistical evaluation of the test programs 
     conducted pursuant to section 6 of the Ballistics, Law 
     Assistance, and State Technology Act.
       ``(5) There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
     Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury for 
     each of fiscal years 2001 through 2004, $20,000,000 to carry 
     out this subsection, including--
       ``(A) installation of ballistics equipment and bullet and 
     cartridge casing recovery equipment;
       ``(B) establishment of sites for ballistics testing;
       ``(C) salaries and expenses of necessary personnel; and
       ``(D) research and evaluation.
       ``(6) The Secretary and the Attorney General shall conduct 
     mandatory ballistics testing of all firearms obtained or in 
     the possession of their respective agencies.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 
     (3), the amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect 
     on the date on which the Attorney General and the Secretary 
     of the Treasury, in consultation with the Board of the 
     National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, certify 
     that the ballistics systems used by the Department of Justice 
     and the Department of the Treasury are sufficiently 
     interoperable to make mandatory ballistics testing of new 
     firearms possible.
       (2) Ballistics testing.--Section 923(m)(1) of title 18, 
     United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take 
     effect 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
       (3) Effective on date of enactment.--Section 923(m)(6) of 
     title 18, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 
     shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 5. PRIVACY RIGHTS OF LAW ABIDING CITIZENS.

       Ballistics information of individual guns in any form or 
     database established by this Act may not be used for 
     prosecutorial purposes unless law enforcement officials have 
     a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed and that 
     ballistics information would assist in the investigation of 
     that crime.

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague Senator 
Kohl in introducing the Ballistics, Law Assistance, and Safety 
Technology Act. This legislation would build on the success of the 
existing National Integrated Ballistic Information Network by 
requiring, for the first time, ballistics testing of all new firearms 
so that law enforcement can more effectively trace bullets or cartridge 
casings recovered from shootings.
  As we have learned from the horrific series of sniper shootings in 
the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area over the past week, law 
enforcement already has the technology to link bullets or casings found 
at separate crime scenes back to a single gun. Every firearm has 
individual characteristics that are as unique to it as fingerprints are 
to human beings. When a gun is fired, it transfers these 
characteristics, in the form of small, sometimes microscopic scratches 
and dents, to the projectiles and cartridge casings fired in it.
  These unique fingerprints offer a great crime-solving tool for law 
enforcement. When bullets or cartridge casings are found at a crime 
scene, firearms examiners can use the marks for comparison, to 
determine whether or not the bullets or casings were expelled from a 
suspect's firearm. If a firearm is recovered at the scene, a test fire 
of the weapon creates example bullets and cartridge casings for 
comparison to those found in or near a victim. Bullets and casings 
found at one crime scene can also be compared with those found at 
another in order to link the crimes.
  On the national level, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms recently combined their 
ballistics identification programs into the National Integrated 
Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, which provides for the 
installation and networking of automated ballistic imaging equipment in 
state and local law enforcement agencies across the country. Because 
thousands more pieces of recovered ballistic evidence can be compared 
using digital automation than would be possible using only manual 
comparisons, links between otherwise seemingly unrelated crimes are 
discovered, and investigative leads are generated for police followup.
  Ballistics imaging technology is already demonstrating its potential 
to revolutionize criminal investigation. But a major tool for law 
enforcement is missing here, and that is a national ballistics 
fingerprint system that would enable law enforcement to trace crime 
scene evidence back to a suspect. The current NIBIN system provides 
valuable information on guns that have been used in crime, but unless 
such a gun was used in a previous crime for which ballistics evidence 
was collected and entered, the bullets or casings from the crime scene 
will find no match in the NIBIN system. No ballistics data are 
available for most of the estimated 200 million guns in this country, 
and no ballistics fingerprint information is being collected on the 
three to five million new guns coming into commerce in the United 
States each year. As a result, law enforcement usually has no way to 
trace the evidence back to a specific firearm and, ultimately, a 
suspect.
  The bill we are introducing today would give law enforcement the 
tools it needs to fight violent crime by requiring gun manufacturers 
and importers to test fire all new firearms, prepare ballistics images 
of the fired bullet and cartridge casings, and make these records 
available to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for entry in a 
computerized database which would be shared with state and local law 
enforcement agencies across the country. The bill also provides $20 
million per year for ATF to help gun manufacturers and importers comply 
with these requirements by installing or upgrading ballistics equipment 
at or near the places of business of manufacturers and importers.
  I have no doubt that the National Rifle Association and some in the 
gun industry are going to say that what we are proposing is tantamount 
to establishing a national registry of gun owners. I want to point out 
that this bill does not require the submission to law enforcement of 
any information beyond the ballistic images produced by test firing the 
gun. The names of any people or businesses that buy guns from federally 
licensed manufacturers or importers will continue to be kept in the 
files of those manufacturers and importers just as the law requires 
today. Law enforcement would only have access to this information in 
the context of a criminal investigation, for example when the evidence 
from a crime scene matches a ballistics fingerprint record for a gun 
produced and sold by a certain manufacturer or importer.
  We should have taken these steps years ago. If we had, maybe the 
ballistic evidence from this week's sniper shootings would match an 
image in the law enforcement database, and we could save lives by 
identifying and arresting this cold-blooded killer before he strikes 
again. But the gun lobby has prevented the creation of an effective 
ballistics database by portraying this as a national gun registry. In 
fact, they have been so successful that even though two States, 
Maryland and New York, have created a ballistics fingerprint system for 
all guns sold in those States, the ATF's NIBIN system is not even 
allowed to access those records, nor can law enforcement agencies in 
other States look at the records through the NIBIN network. We will 
never know how many violent crimes may go unsolved because of this 
insane restriction on law enforcement's ability to do its job.
  We have a responsibility to give law enforcement authorities the 
tools they need to quickly track down and bring to justice those who 
would use firearms to prey on our communities. The bill we are 
introducing today will do that by taking full advantage of the crime-
fighting benefits that ballistic imaging and analysis can provide. I 
urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation.
                                 ______