I think it’s all marvelously ironic that various states attorneys general are criticizing John Ashcroft and the DoJ because he’s being too rigorous about citizen privacy concerns — in this isolated case regarding gun purchases and Second Amendment rights.
State officials in Illinois and California say Ashcroft — an ardent believer in the Second Amendment right to bear arms — has been overzealous in his efforts to protect the privacy of gun buyers.
But Justice Department spokeswoman Monica Goodling said Ashcroft is simply enforcing federal law “consistently and vigorously.”
The question is whether gun purchase data from the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System (NICS) can be used by states for other purposes. Under the Brady Act, the FBI is required to destroy NICS records after 90 days (recently changed to 24 hours), as it’s not meant to be a gun registration database. But various states, such as Illionis and California, appear to be holding onto (or wanting the Feds to do so) copies of the results, for use in other investigations.
(via Dodd)