The City of Baltimore announced a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on Tuesday, December 19th.
Mayor Brandon Scott's office says "the City requested.. the identity of the top ten sources of crime guns in Baltimore from 2018 to 2022," as part of the City's effort to fight gun violence.
"Right now, we do not have all the data that we need," says Scott in the announcement.
The ATF declined the Freedom of Information Act request based on a legal rider that the City hopes to challenge in court.
"We are using every tool at our disposal to drive this reduction [in gun violence,]" says Scott.
The Mayor argued because the ATF can't share the information with mayors and states attorneys, they don't have the information the City needs to better tailor its policies to fight gun violence in a data-driven way.
"This administration understands that public safety is a public health issues," says Ebony Thompson, the acting Baltimore City Solicitor, adding that accurate data is necessary for this to be addressed.
Everytown Law, the legal arm of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund is partnering with the city in the suit.
A representative from Everytown Law called the lawsuit "very necessary" during the annoucement.
The lawsuit was officially filed Monday afternoon.
We reached out to the ATF for comment and a spokesperson sent us the following:
"ATF does not comment on pending litigation."
