Want to Know How the Cops Actually Trace a Gun?

agoutirex:

bogleech:

wait, what?

“no computer. The National Tracing Center is not allowed to have centralized computer data.“

WAIT, WHAT???

That’s the big no-no,” says Charlie.That’s
been a federal law, thanks to the NRA, since 1986: No searchable
database of America’s gun owners. So people here have to use paper, sort
through enormous stacks of forms and record books that gun stores are
required to keep and to eventually turn over to the feds when requested.

It’s kind of like a library in the old days—but without the card
catalog. They can use pictures of paper, like microfilm (they recently
got the go-ahead to convert the microfilm to PDFs), as long as the
pictures of paper are not searchable. You have to flip through and read.
No searching by gun owner. No searching by name.“

WAIT

WHAT????????????????

We live in the 24/7 panopticon surveillance state and yet there seems to be this one curious exception. How very odd.

Want to Know How the Cops Actually Trace a Gun?