El Paso, Jul 17, 2011 -

At the request of Chairman Darryl Issa, R-Calif., of the House Oversight Committee, I joined members of his committee in Mexico City to meet with officials from both the U.S. and Mexico on the growing problem of gun trafficking.

As a former Border Patrol agent and Sector Chief with over 26 years of experience securing our southern border, I am deeply concerned that our federal law-enforcement officers and prosecutors in the field lack the tools they need to effectively investigate, arrest and prosecute weapons smugglers lurking in the United States.

The recent controversy surrounding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) "Fast and Furious" investigation of weapons smugglers in the Southwest reveals the legal hurdles our federal law-enforcement officers and prosecutors face in combating the illegal transfer of guns from the U.S. to Mexico.

While there are many valid questions regarding the decisions made by ATF during this investigation, it should not distract Congress from the threat posed by gun trafficking. I'm troubled that some members of Congress have been more passionate and vocal in their criticism of our ATF agents than they have been of gun traffickers themselves.

Many in Congress have refused to examine the federal laws in place that impede the efforts of our law-enforcement officers and prosecutors to combat this threat. I do not believe Congress can genuinely fulfill its oversight obligations in this matter without questioning

whether the current legal tools are sufficient to meet present challenges.

Despite the obvious desire of Mexico's criminal organizations to acquire semi-automatic rifles from the U.S., Congress thwarted ATF's efforts to obtain information on multiple sales of these types of guns.

Currently, federally-licensed gun dealers must notify ATF within 48 hours when an individual purchases more than one handgun in five consecutive business days. However, when an individual purchases a dozen AK-47s, no reporting is required.

When ATF tried to implement a similar reporting requirement for semi-automatic rifles in the four Southwest border states with the highest rates of gun-trafficking cases, the Republican-led House acted swiftly to help protect the anonymity of potential gun traffickers and "straw purchasers" and voted to prohibit ATF from using funds for this purpose.

Fortunately, the Department of Justice announced this week that it is implementing such a requirement in the Southwest, providing potentially valuable leads on gun traffickers.

The NRA and others have decried this reporting requirement as an infringement on their right to bear arms, even though it would not limit the number of rifles that can be bought at one time or even delay the purchase of them.

As the owner of multiple firearms myself, I value my Second Amendment rights, but we must strike a balance between the need to respect gun- ownership rights and the need for common-sense measures to meet current security challenges.

I find it particularly indefensible that many of the same Texas Republicans who were outspoken in their desire to protect the integrity of the ballot box during the voter-ID debate are far less vocal about the integrity of a multiple gun sale of high-caliber rifles in the state.

In addition, mild penalties imposed on suspected traffickers also fail to deter individuals from engaging in this illegal activity. In many instances, traffickers who helped smuggle hundreds of weapons to Mexico were handed probation. With these weak penalties, it is more difficult for our agents to extract valuable intelligence from suspects who would be more willing to cooperate in exchange for a plea bargain to avoid stiffer punishment.

While we are investing in 21st-century technologies to help Mexico trace weapons more quickly and effectively, our own ATF agents in the U.S. are forced to manually comb through mounds of paper records to trace firearms. As a result of legislation favored by the NRA and passed by Congress, our agents are prohibited from inputting gun-ownership information into a computerized database that would find records quickly and efficiently when tracing a firearm.

Clearly, we are relying on antiquated methods to fight an evasive enemy. Unfortunately, many members of Congress lack the willingness to take on special interests to give our federal law-enforcement officers and prosecutors the tools they need.

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes represents the 16th Congressional District.