Blunt slams ATF for racial identification on gun sales

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) blasted the Obama administration for requesting racial information during gun sales.

“The right of law-abiding citizens to own firearms is an individual right guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” Blunt wrote in a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) over the weekend. “The constitutional right of a citizen to own a firearm has nothing to do with race or ethnicity.”

{mosads}Blunt demanded answers as to why the ATF would want or need racial information about gun purchasers.

“It is disconcerting that the U.S. government is gathering this type of data on citizens when there is no connection between purchasing a firearm and an individual’s race or ethnicity.” Blunt said. “Any measure that may interfere with a citizen’s ability to exercise his or her constitutional right to purchase a firearm needs to be questioned.”

Blunt’s comments came after reports that the ATF was amending its record requirements for gun sales. The new form would include a section where the buyer has to identify their ethnicity.

Lawmakers in the House have introduced a bill that would eliminate that requirement.