Patriot Act (Firearms Purchase Records). During consideration of the Patriot Act extension bill (S. 990), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who opposes the Patriot Act on constitutional grounds, offered an amendment that would have banned the use of Patriot Act searches for American citizens’ firearms records without the Fourth Amendment’s protections of probable cause, warrants, and particularity. Gun Owners of America, which supported this amendment, warned: “Without Paul’s exemption, it is possible that the BATFE could go to a secret (FISA) court, and, in a one-party (ex parte) proceeding, obtain an order to produce every 4473 [firearms transaction record] in the country, ostensibly because a ‘terrorism investigation’ requires it. If such an action were taken, the government would have a list of every gun buyer in the country going back decades.”
The Senate tabled (killed) Rand Paul’s amendment on May 26, 2011 by a vote of 85 to 10 (Roll Call 82). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Paul’s amendment would have prevented the Patriot Act from being used to violate the rights of gun owners.
