Washington, DC – Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) joined 62 House Republicans by signing on as a cosponsor of the No Retaining Every Gun in a System That Restricts Your (REGISTRY) Rights Act. The bill, reintroduced by Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX), would prevent the federal government from assembling a federal firearms registry.

Once a gun retailer closes their business, they are required to turn over all firearm transaction records to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), which are then stored in a national database. Previously, gun retailers were permitted to destroy firearm transaction records after 20 years, but under President Biden all records must now be permanently maintained.

After it was suspected that the Biden Administration was moving to create a federal firearms registry, inquiries from members of Congress discovered that the ATF is storing nearly one billion firearm transaction records. This database is only expected to grow as the Biden Admin seeks to shut down more and more gun stores, preventing Americans from exercising their Second Amendment rights.

The bill would mandate that the ATF destroy the firearm transaction records they currently have on file and require closing gun retailers to destroy their transaction records as well, preventing this information from ending up with the ATF.

“We live in a country founded on the recognition of our God-given, inalienable rights, including the right to defend ourselves, our families, and our communities,” Crane said. “A federal firearm registry would clearly infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun-owners through unfair scrutiny. I proudly stand with my colleagues in opposing a federal gun registry.”

###