BULLET RECORD ID SYSTEM SPURS DEBATE STATE SENATOR TO PROPOSE DATABASE.Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer Spurred to action by the Beltway sniper, state Sen. Jack Scott said Tuesday he will propose legislation requiring the ballistic fingerprinting of all new guns in California. The law would require that guns manufactured or sold in California be test-fired, and the distinct mark left on the bullet and shell casing electronically stored in a government database. ``You're capturing the signature of the firearm,'' said Robert Ricker of Virginia, a forensic technology expert and former assistant general council for the National Rifle Association National Rifle Association (NRA) Governing organization for the sport of shooting with rifles and pistols. It was founded in Britain in 1860. The U.S. organization, formed in 1871, has a membership of some four million. Both the British and the U.S. . ``What this does is computerize com·put·er·ize tr.v. com·put·er·ized, com·put·er·iz·ing, com·put·er·iz·es 1. To furnish with a computer or computer system. 2. To enter, process, or store (information) in a computer or system of computers. the database so that during a criminal investigation you can find a needle in a haystack For the epidode of the TV series House, see . A needle in a haystack is an English idiom that refers to an object (or a person) that is difficult to find because it is lost, mixed in, or buried within a much larger space, mass, crowd, or group of some other objects. ,'' Ricker said. Scott, D-Pasadena, plans to introduce the legislation when the Legislature reconvenes in December. ``California has proven to be a leader nationwide in certain gun safety measures safety measures, n.pl actions (e.g., use of glasses, face masks) taken to protect patients and office personnel from such known hazards as particles and aerosols from high-speed rotary instruments, mercury vapor, radiation exposure, anesthetic and - we require the sale of trigger locks and we banned the assault weapon; on this issue we may well prove to be the leader that causes this to be adopted on a nationwide basis,'' Scott said. Opponents of the legislation, like the National Rifle Association, say that criminals would simply use stolen weapons or change the barrel of their gun, which is easy to do, said Lt. Steve Nielson of the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . . Maryland and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of are the only U.S. states that now have ballistic fingerprint databases, which work in the same way as DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. or fingerprint databases. Despite possible shortcomings, Nielson thinks it would help police. ``From a law enforcement perspective, it would be a useful tool to us - it's another tool to help us solve the case,'' Nielson said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has also employed a ballistic fingerprinting database, but imposing a federal law to require the practice is a contentious political issue. Asked about it last week in light of the sniper, President George W. Bush's press secretary Ari Fleischer said that it is not new gun laws that are needed, but values, according to the New York Times. In the case of the Beltway sniper, Maryland's ballistic fingerprint database was not used since it only tracks handguns, and the sniper has been using a high-powered rifle. However, without the use of standard ballistic testing on shells and bullets recovered from the sniper's crimes, the ATF ATF Molecular virology Activating transcription factor A cellular protein that stimulates transcription of adenovirus E4 transcription unit, which acts early in infection at any of several 'enhancer' binding sites would not have been able to connect the series of shootings as definitively as they have, according to Maryland State Police The Maryland State Police is the official state police force of the State of Maryland. Overview of the Maryland State Police The Field Operations Bureau comprises twenty-three (23) barracks within six (6) geographical troop areas. Major Greg Shipley. ``Ballistic evidence has been an important part of the investigation,'' Shipley said, adding that the ATF has one of the most advanced ballistic labs in the country. If the last known owner of the sniper's rifle had been identified using a ballistic fingerprint database, Shipley said, the ATF investigation would be significantly advanced. Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Wayne Bilowit summed up the ballistic fingerprinting debate simply. ``Would it be useful as a tool? Absolutely. Is it foolproof? Heck, no,'' Bilowit said. |
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