Congresswoman demands tougher gun regulations - JSOnline

Congresswoman demands tougher gun regulations - JSOnline: "A Wisconsin congresswoman is demanding federal watchdogs get tougher on gun stores that sell a high number of guns used in crimes, citing a dealer in West Milwaukee that has sold firearms used to shoot six police officers in Milwaukee in less than two years.

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to explain why a recommendation to revoke the license of Badger Outdoors in West Milwaukee was never pursued - as reported by the Journal Sentinel earlier this year.

In a letter responding to Moore, the ATF said it 'diligently reviewed' the findings of the Journal Sentinel article, but said its hands are partially tied by Congress when it comes to examining hidden gun store ownership.

Federal law allows ATF only to investigate the person applying for a gun license, but not the people who may be secretly behind the operation. That is different from other licenses, such as alcohol wholesalers, where the same agency can delve deeply into secret owners by combing business records.

'Quite often proof of hidden ownership can be found in business records that are not the type of records ATF has authority to demand access to under its compliance inspection authority,' W. Larry Ford, assistant director of the ATF's public and governmental affairs, wrote in a letter to Moore, who recently released the letter to the newspaper.

At Badger Outdoors, the newspaper reported federal records show the license recommended for revocation was relinquished voluntarily, the players inside the operation took on new roles and a new license was issued to the son of a previous owner, creating what an ATF official called a 'clean slate.' The store remains open, operating as Badger Guns.