Opinion: Don't purge pawned-gun data

The idea of keeping a statewide record of pawnshop transactions was a good one until the Florida Department of Law Enforcement caved in to the National Rifle Association. For months, the state worked with sheriffs and police chiefs to consolidate local databases, tracking everything from pawned jewelry to televisions. But a last minute addendum pushed by the NRA would purge information about gun purchases after 48 hours, while the rest of the database remains intact.

Besides the ability to track the flow of stolen and illegal weapons, local databases of pawnshop records have long helped sheriffs arrest convicted felons who pawn guns. During a transaction, pawnshops collect a customer's name, address, phone number and right thumbprint then turn that information over to the county sheriff within 24 hours. Under the NRA's rules, officers would have just one more day to review records from around the state before the information is purged. Any rookie officer could confirm that the average case load makes such a speedy review difficult if not impossible.

In addition to being bad policy, the purge is about the most hypocritical exception the FDLE could make. Not many violent crimes are committed with pawned VCRs and radios. But a vigorous effort to curb the flow of cheap, virtually untraceable guns to former criminals is one of the best ways to prevent new gun crimes. The FDLE's own statistics show nearly one in five violent offenses committed in 2000 involved a firearm. Yet the state's top law enforcement officers have allowed themselves to be blinded by the paranoia of the NRA, whose members irrationally fear this is the first step toward registering all gun owners.

The sheriffs also have expressed a valid concern that if the NRA wins this fight, an assault on locally maintained databases cannot be far behind. In fact, the NRA's Tallahassee lobbyist hinted that challenges to the legality of local pawnshop lists are in the works. The database policy is well within the bounds of gun-control measures state public opinion supports. Floridians have gone consistently to the polls in favor of reasonable gun-control laws, voting to allow counties to close the gun show loophole by requiring background checks and in support of waiting periods for handguns.

This is a chance for state officials to step up and do what so many politicians have promised: facilitate better enforcement of gun laws already on the books. Instead, FDLE officials have decided to create another loophole rather than increase the efficiency of a tool already at their disposal.

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