What is ballistic fingerprinting?
When a gun is produced, the metal is formed and scraped away in ways that leave unique imperfections on the barrel. These imperfections leave marks on each bullet fired. Police already use computer technology to compare bullets and determine whether they’ve been fired from the same gun. This technology has connected the Washington sniper shootings to one another. Now, law enforcement officials, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and several members of Congress are calling for a law requiring gun makers to record this “fingerprint” in a computer system. Bullets or casings from a crime scene could then be traced to the gun they were fired from, and from there, through serial number records, to the owner. At least, that is the idea under ideal circumstances. Support and criticism Before the sniper attacks, the Bush administration was skeptical of the plan, saying the technology might not be reliable and could infringe on privacy. But on Oct. 16, White House spokesma
