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90_HR0075
LRB9005449CBcb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, In the past two years, brutal bombings seriously
3 damaged New York's World Trade Center in 1993 and Oklahoma
4 City's Federal Building in 1995; and
5 WHEREAS, Each explosion was caused by criminals or
6 terrorists who used explosives illegally; and
7 WHEREAS, It is imperative to identify, arrest, and
8 convict bombers who victimize innocent people; and
9 WHEREAS, A sophisticated investigatory technique for
10 identifying and tracing explosives was invented and developed
11 in the 1970s, but cannot be implemented without a change in
12 law by the U.S. Congress; and
13 WHEREAS, Several such proposals are currently pending in
14 Congress; and
15 WHEREAS, This investigatory technique involves use of
16 color coded plastic flakes which are mixed into each batch of
17 explosive materials during the manufacturing process; and
18 WHEREAS, These color codes can be changed for each 8-hour
19 work shift; and
20 WHEREAS, These microscopic tracing devices are also given
21 magnetic and fluorescent qualities to assist law enforcement
22 officials in finding these tiny specks by shining
23 ultra-violet light on debris at a bombing scene; and
24 WHEREAS, Detectives can use a magnet to pick out these
25 identifying tracers from post-bomb debris; and
26 WHEREAS, Investigators at a crime scene can use a
27 microscope to read the code and immediately initiate a trace
28 to the explosives' manufacturer and then its retail outlets
29 to discover the last legal purchaser of the explosives used;
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1 and
2 WHEREAS, During a pilot study by the U.S. Bureau of
3 Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in 1978 and 1979, these tracing
4 techniques successfully helped identify, arrest, and convict
5 a suspect in federal court who used explosives to blow up a
6 truck at a Baltimore federal court who used explosives to
7 blow up a truck at a Baltimore steel plant in 1979, killing
8 one worker and injuring another; and
9 WHEREAS, The 1980 conviction was confirmed by the U.S.
10 Court of Appeals in 1981; and
11 WHEREAS, In the 16 years since this arrest, thousands of
12 bombs have shattered lives of otherwise ordinary Americans
13 with little notoriety; and
14 WHEREAS, These tagging devices are no longer mixed into
15 explosives in the United States due to successful lobbying
16 efforts by interests which encouraged Congress to pass laws
17 denying law enforcement agencies the assistance of these
18 tagging devices; and
19 WHEREAS, In the years since the Baltimore bomber's 1980
20 conviction in federal court using taggants, bills have been
21 introduced in Congress to help trace the source of bombings;
22 and
23 WHEREAS, Insertion of tagging devices into all
24 manufactured explosives is opposed by the Institute of Makers
25 of Explosives and the National Rifle Association; and
26 WHEREAS, None of these bills have become law; and
27 WHEREAS, Those who argue against use of taggants which
28 are the size of pepper flakes claim they would add to the
29 cost of explosives and thus damage mining and oil exploration
30 businesses that use these commercial products; and
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1 WHEREAS, Others want an exception to any new law so that
2 taggants will not be placed in black or smokeless powder,
3 which are favorite substances for making pipe bombs; and
4 WHEREAS, Still others do not want the plastic specks put
5 in fertilizer which can be combined with fuel oil to produce
6 powerful explosions such as the one that destroyed Oklahoma
7 City's Federal Building; and
8 WHEREAS, The nation of Switzerland has successfully used
9 identification taggants (sometimes called "chemical
10 fingerprints") in explosives for more than 13 years; and
11 WHEREAS, The existing definition of armor piercing or
12 "cop-killer" bullets under federal law is not adequate to
13 prevent the design, manufacture, and sale of high tech
14 handgun ammunition capable of penetrating police body armor;
15 and
16 WHEREAS, The level of handgun violence to which law
17 enforcement officers are subjected continues to increase; and
18 WHEREAS, S735, S761, HR1568, and HR1710 are currently
19 pending in the U.S. Congress; therefore, be it
20 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22 memorialize the United States Congress to pass legislation
23 requiring a 6-month cooperative government/industry study of
24 taggants and, in the event this study confirms taggants can
25 be safely integrated into explosives, that identification
26 taggants be mandated for all explosives manufactured,
27 possessed, and used in the United States; and be it further
28 RESOLVED, That we memorialize the United States Congress
29 to amend HR1710 or other legislation to include specific
30 language banning manufacture of "cop-killer" bullets and
31 requiring inclusion of taggants in explosives manufactured,
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1 possessed, or used in the United States; and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
3 presented to the Speaker of the United States House of
4 Representatives, the President pro tempore of the United
5 States Senate, and each member of the Illinois congressional
6 delegation.