The Tiahrt Amendments[i] are a series of permanent appropriation restrictions on ATF’s ability to publicly disclose private gun owner and gun store information. They prevent personal information contained in firearm trace data from being turned over to anti-gun zealots in Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests.[ii] Unfortunately, career employees at ATF have now intentionally violated the Tiahrt Amendments on at least two occasions—setting a dangerous precedent that must be reversed.

What is at stake here bears emphasis. If anti-gunners obtain Tiahrt-protected data, they will use it to harass urban gun stores and high-volume retailers in civil lawsuits, alleging that a high number of trace requests implies these businesses carelessly transfer firearms to criminals. That data can make all the difference in anti-gunner lawfare. For example, the Supreme Court recently dismissed a lawsuit claiming Smith & Wesson was responsible for crimes committed with its products in Mexico. But if anti-gun litigants had access to Tiahrt-protected trace data might have allowed the suit to continue.[iii] Thus, Tiahrt must be protected, as violations may enable frivolous nuisance lawsuits to effectively bankrupt the firearm industry.

Violations #1 & #2: Bondi’s ATF Just Violated Tiahrt… Twice

The Biden ATF inadvertently sent GOA unredacted FOIA documents, in violation of Tiahrt, and then secured a court-mandated gag order to prevent GOA from using the information.[iv] But in an outrageous attempt to moot our lawsuit against this Biden-era censorship, the Bondi ATF intentionally released these same FOIA documents to GOA, selectively un-redacting Tiahrt-protected data despite acknowledging in court that it cannot in fact do that.[v] This release sets a dangerous precedent that ATF bureaucrats can ignore direct appropriation restrictions—first “accidentally,” and then intentionally to get out of court.

The gun control lobby is watching this carefully. Everytown for Gun Safety and the City of Baltimore have filed an amicus brief in our appeal of this FOIA gag order, claiming that ATF’s release of Tiahrt-protected data is NOT a violation of the statue.[vi] Essentially, they believe Tiahrt is not mandatory and instead is optional. If this theory is allowed to stand, it opens a massive loophole for gun owner data leaks in the future and the next anti-gun administration will release protected data to harm the gun industry.

Violation #3: Biden’s ATF Also Intentionally Violated Tiahrt to Help Gun Control Lobby

The Biden ATF also separately undermined Tiahrt by intentionally helping the gun control lobby create a map of gun shops from the “Demand Letter 2” program—including those owned by Congressman Andrew Clyde and Senator Ted Budd.[vii] The data released could only have come from the ATF’s Firearm Trace System, which is explicitly protected by Tiahrt.[viii] The information was not a definitive or exhaustive investigation of crimes and it therefore painted an inaccurate picture of law-abiding firearm dealers. The release also compromised investigations and the safety of law enforcement officers.[ix]

[i] Named after their original sponsor, Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas.

[ii] PL 112-55; 125 Stat. 609-610. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-112publ55/pdf/PLAW-112publ55.pdf.

[iii] Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, 605 U.S. 280 (2025), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1141_lkgn.pdf.

[iv] BACKGROUND: Back in 2022, ATF inadvertently sent Gun Owners of America an unredacted FOIA production regarding the FBI’s unlawful “NICS Monitoring” program, which technically violated Tiahrt. ATF then sought—and the district court granted—a prior restraint on GOA’s First Amendment speech and press activity, prohibiting GOA from using, speaking about, or releasing FOIA materials it had obtained through no fault of its own. GOA is appealing this gag order and is being supported by an amicus brief from almost every major newspaper in the country—from the New York Times to the Washington Post, and from Politico to Axios. https://x.com/GunOwners/status/1989439533373690348?s=20.

[v] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mlz8rFUiPw.

[vi] https://x.com/GunOwners/status/1996298569624453330?s=20.

[vii] https://gunstoretransparency.org/

[viii] ATF Repeatedly Violated Firearm Trace Data Laws, Holly Tkach, Texas Scorecard, July 11, 2024. ATF Repeatedly Violated Firearm Trace Data Laws – Texas Scorecard

[ix] Letter to Appropriations Subcommittee in support of Tiahrt Amendment, Fraternal Order of Police. 16 April 2007. https://fop.net/NewsArticle.aspx?news_article_id=411