Rep. Andrew Clyde's gun shop in Athens is on ATF watch program, reports New York Times

The New York Times reported in August that U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde had “grilled” a top official with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regarding a federal program that tracks gun dealers where sold guns were later linked to crimes.

The point of the article was that Clyde, a Republic congressman in his second term representing Georgia's 9th District, did not reveal during the hearing that his own store in Athens was placed in the program, which the ATF named Demand 2.

Clyde, according to the Times story, accused the ATF program of being unfair during the hearing held in April.

The revelation that Clyde Armory in Athens was placed in the program was made by Brady, a gun safety group in Washington, D.C., that obtained a document on Clyde's store through a freedom of information request to the ATF.

“As part of our regular program we came into possession of a Demand 2 letter for a location of Clyde Armory,” Josh Scharff, a lawyer who leads Brady’s crime guns team, told the Banner-Herald.

Demand 2 identified only 3% of gun businesses with a federal license to sell guns were placed in the program, according to Scharff.

The ATF does not release specific information, such as the type crimes involved and where the crimes occurred, Scharff said. Nor will the ATF release, he said, which store in the U.S. was linked to the most guns used in crimes.

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Scharff said Congress passed a law restricting that data and how it is released to the public.

Clyde’s office did not respond to an e-mail for comment regarding his store located on Atlanta Highway. Clyde, 59, a resident of Jackson County, owns a second gun store in Warner Robins.

Brady provided the Banner-Herald with a copy of the letter sent to Clyde’s store in Athens.

“ATF is requesting your continued participation in the Demand 2 Program because our records indicate that, in calendar year 2021, twenty-five or more crime guns with a 'time-to-crime' of three years or less were traced through the above-mentioned FFL (Federal Firearms License),” according to the letter.

The “time to time” of a traced gun refers to the period of time that it took for a gun to move from the retailer to recovery at a crime scene, according to the ATF.

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The average for a “time to crime” is 10 years, according to the ATF.

The letter also tells Clyde Armory to continue submitting reports on a quarterly basis until advised otherwise.

This information will enable the ATF to trace secondhand firearms recovered by law enforcement during criminal investigations and combat illegal firearms trafficking, according to the ATF.

The Times reported that Clyde declined to comment on his business, but he noted that firearm traces “cause a significant administrative burden” for those with a federal firearms license.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Congressman Andrew Clyde's gun shop placed on ATF monitoring program