WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) today expressed disappointment that the Wichita ABC affiliate KAKE TV ran a third party ad that is false and misleading related to the Tiahrt Amendment. The ad claims the current law prohibits public release of critical data in criminal investigations. In actuality, repeal of this current law places police officers in jeopardy.

“We might expect this from the New York Times or an East Coast liberal media outlet with an agenda, but it is very disappointing that KAKE has decided to run this misleading ad,” wrote Tiahrt communications director Chuck Knapp in a statement released to the media.

At issue is a television ad claiming the so-called Tiahrt Amendment, “Prevents law enforcement from tracking illegal weapons.” The Tiahrt Amendment actually prohibits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from releasing gun trace data to the public. The ATF gun trace database contains investigation-specific information and is made available to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors for criminal investigations. The ATF and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the nation’s largest law enforcement organization, support the Tiahrt Amendment and have requested its reauthorization every year since 2003. Both organizations claim repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment would jeopardize ongoing criminal investigations and risk the lives of undercover law enforcement officers.

The organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns is responsible for running the ads in the local market. The group claims to have the support of numerous police chiefs across the country, which is also misleading according to National FOP President Chuck Canterbury.

“The mayors would have you believe that law enforcement supports giving them the information on gun traces because many of their employees -- namely police chiefs, who often serve at the pleasure of the mayor -- have publicly backed their coalition,” explained Canterbury. “But the officers in the field who are actually working illegal gun cases know that releasing sensitive information about pending cases can jeopardize the integrity of an investigation or even place the lives of undercover officers in danger. That is why the Fraternal Order of Police has always supported language protecting firearms trace data, now known as the ‘Tiahrt amendment.’ For the men and women in uniform who are fighting illegal guns, it is a matter of officer safety and good police work.”

Wichita television stations KSNW and KWCH are not running the misleading issue ads.