Gun Control Advocates Introduce ‘Microstamping’ Bill
This week, Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA) introduced “microstamping” legislation titled the “National Crime Gun Identification Act of 2007.” The bill is co-sponsored in the Senate by Senators Feinstein (D-CA), Menendez (D-NJ), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Durbin (D-IL), Schumer (D-NY), and Reed (D-RI).
Commenting on the bill’s introduction, Kennedy said, “Micro-stamping ammunition is an important and effective method of tracing guns, and provides law enforcement with a much-needed resource in solving crimes.”
Actually, microstamping has never been implemented. Legislation was passed in California at the end of last year, but has not been implemented. Therefore, claiming it is an “effective method” is not correct. On the contrary, there are numerous and varied problems with micro-stamping (for additional information on those flaws, please click here:
The theory of “micro-stamping” is that a firearm’s firing pin or other internal parts could bear microscopic codes unique to the firearm, that could imprint the codes on fired cartridge cases, and that the codes could be entered into a computerized database before the firearm leaves the factory. Then, the theory continues, if such a gun were used in a crime, police investigators could pick up a cartridge case left at the crime scene, identify the markings on the case, run the markings against the database, and thereby identify the criminal involved.
Micro-stamping has repeatedly failed in tests.
the “vast majority” of micro-stamped characters in the alphanumeric serial number couldn’t be read on “any of the expended cartridge cases generated and examined.”
Micro-stampings are easily removed.
Micro-stamping may increase gun thefts, home invasions and other burglaries, and expand the black market in guns. Criminals will be further encouraged to get guns illegally, if they believe that guns bought legally will be linked to them in a computerized database.
Most guns do not automatically eject fired cartridge cases.
Problems for law enforcement. Micro-stamping exposes police departments to lawsuits if officers fire “unsafe handguns” at suspects. Departments will have to spend money destroying all cases fired in training, to prevent cases from being reused at crime scenes. Criminals can obtain fired cases from practice ranges, and use them to “seed” crime scenes, to confuse investigators.
- Even if a case is microstamped and recovered from a crime scene, the bullet would still have to be matched to the gun. How do they plan on doing that?
- Reloaders will be in a tough spot, too.