Twin Falls Gun Shops, Police at Odds Over Alleged ‘Gun Registration’ Program
By Greg Pruett • August 14, 2024Several gun shops in Twin Falls are alleging that the Twin Falls Police Department is maintaining a form of “gun registration” and that the police are trying to force them into the program under the threat of law.
Idaho Dispatch sat down with the owners of Quick Response Firearms (Tara and Daniel Corsini) and Homestead Tactical (Joshua Van Dyke), both located in Twin Falls. Both shops say TFPD is trying to force them to use a program called “LeadsOnline.” They claim the program not only acts as a de facto “gun registration program” because it requires personal information about the customer selling the gun as well as information about the firearm being sold.
TFPD allegedly told the gun shops that the program helps them catch criminals faster.
(You can watch Idaho Dispatch’s interview with QRF and Homestead Tactical at the end of this article.)
The dispute between the gun shops and the police department is over secondhand purchases of firearms by the gun shops.
According to the Corsinis and Van Dyke, federal law already requires them to maintain a list of every firearm that is sold to or by the shop as well as the personal information of the buyer and seller. The gun shops maintain an “Acquisition and Disposition Log” with every customer’s personal information as required by the ATF. Both gun shops say the log is maintained offline, customer personal information is protected, and personal information is only disclosed in the event of an active investigation.
For example, the Corsinis said two firearms they purchased from a customer were reported stolen early in 2023. The Twin Falls police investigated who sold the Corsinis the guns, and the items were returned to their owner. The Corsinis said they worked with the police, and because there was an active investigation, they were able to give them the necessary information for the case.
The Corsinis say they have purchased over 8,000 firearms since they began business in 2019 and that, to date, those are the only two stolen firearms they have ever had. Van Dyke says he has not had any stolen firearms sold to his business to date.
Approximately one year after the stolen firearms were returned, the Corsinis and Van Dyke say police started “harassing” them to use LeadsOnline, an online program used by law enforcement agencies across the country. The Corsinis noted that not all interactions with law enforcement were negative, but one detective, who was not named, allegedly told them they had to comply or face misdemeanor charges.
Who owns LeadsOnline, and what exactly does it do? According to their website,
“LeadsOnline is privately held and backed by global private equity firm TA Associates. LeadsOnline was represented by Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP as legal counsel and Moss Adams LLP as financial advisor. Nighthawk was represented by Piper Sandler.
About LeadsOnline:
LeadsOnline is a trusted provider of data, technology and intelligence tools to U.S. and global law enforcement agencies. The company’s Intel solutions make it possible for investigators to find people, property and patterns in criminal cases, and regularly prove instrumental to solve gun crime, violent crime, missing persons, property crimes, and more. Further, LeadsOnline’s Ballistics solution, IBIS, is the leading provider of Ballistics Identification Networks globally. LeadsOnline serves more than 5,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies and global public safety organizations in nearly 80 countries. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas and Montreal, Quebec.”
LeadsOnline says they do not sell information gathered using the program to third parties.
Idaho Dispatch contacted LeadsOnline to determine if the program required customers’ personal information. LeadsOnline told Idaho Dispatch that personal information is not required and that each law enforcement agency can customize the program for its needs.
Additionally, Idaho Dispatch asked LeadsOnline who can access the information collected by the Twin Falls police. LeadsOnline told Idaho Dispatch that each agency controls who can access the data they are gathering.
Finally, Idaho Dispatch asked LeadsOnline what would happen if the FBI, ATF, or any other federal agency asked for data from a law enforcement agency. What would LeadsOnline require to turn over that data? However, no answer to this question was provided.
Idaho Dispatch contacted Lieutenant Craig Stotts (listed as a media contact) with the TFPD to ask why personal information regarding the secondhand firearms purchases by gun shops was required, if the gun shops already maintain that information in their Acquisition and Disposition Log, and if LeadsOnline does not require it to be gathered.
Additionally, Idaho Dispatch asked Stotts for a response to the gun shops’ claims of harassment by TFPD, claims that the shops faced misdemeanor charges, and whether they believed LeadsOnline was serving as a de facto gun registration program.
Idaho Dispatch emailed and called Stotts, but we have not received a response to any of our questions.
Van Dyke says one of his biggest concerns is the collection of personal information by the police, which he said is a violation of the 4th Amendment.
Van Dyke said he also became concerned about the data being collected, so he filed a Public Records Request on July 1, 2024, to the TFPD asking them about usage data and investigations versus the actual number of convictions from LeadsOnline. The PRR states,
“We do not track usage data, or investigations vs. actual number of convictions as a result of data mining with Leads Online.”
Currently, neither Van Dyke nor the Corsinis have used LeadsOnline, although the Corsinis have signed up for an account. Idaho Dispatch observed the program and verified that personal information was required for submission if they were to use the program.
The Corsinis and Van Dyke say they would use LeadsOnline if it did not require personal customer information. They both say that customer information would be turned over if a firearm was reported stolen, but the government did not need information on all their customers who sold them firearms and that the transactions would remain private.
Both shops reiterated to Idaho Dispatch that they wanted to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, but the requirement for customers’ personal information was a “red line” they were not willing to cross.
Idaho Dispatch contacted Rep. Lance Clow (R), Rep. Greg Lanting (R), Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld (R), and Sen. Linda Wright Hartgen (R) about the dispute. All four lawmakers live in Twin Falls.
Zuiderveld is the only legislator who has returned our request for comment. She told Idaho Dispatch:
“When my constituents who own gun shops reached out to me about the issue of a third-party gun registry implemented by local law enforcement agencies, I recognized it as a backdoor infringement on our Second Amendment rights at the local level. This is exactly how we begin to lose our freedoms. I have contacted Attorney General Labrador’s office to clarify Idaho’s definition of gun registration.”
Additionally, Idaho Dispatch requested comment from the mayor and city council of Twin Falls. No responses have been provided at this time.
Tags: Attorney General, Daniel Corsini, Firearms, Glenneda Zuiderveld, Gun Registration, Guns, Joshua Van Dyke, LeadsOnline, QRF, Quick Response Firearms, Raul Labrador, Tara Corsini, Twin Falls, Twin Falls Police Department
Merrick Garland just met with Idaho law enforcement agencies yesterday.
Yikes
We need to learn about who are the enemy of the people .
Seems like a better solution would be to give the gun shops access to the stolen firearms list available to law enforcement.
Leads on Line has long been used by pawn shops and police to recover property reported stolen, including guns.
The city requiring the serial number of a gun purchased to be entered along with the purchaser information seems to be a violation of Article I, Sec 11 of our State Constitution.
I keep serial numbers and photos of my guns so that I can include them in a theft report and in Leads on Line AFTER the theft not before.
The threat of arrest for a misdemeanor mentioned in the article for noncompliance needs to be pushed back on by the Twin Falls Sheriff. The Sheriff needs to interpose and put the police in check on behave of the citizen.
Our politicians, government employed and the military are the enemy of we the people.
** typo
On “behalf “ of the citizen.
It would appear to me, as is usually the case in which there are inquiries about most anything that “non-responses,” are very telling. As the saying goes…”silence can be deafening.”
The agencies in question would do well, in my opinion, to come clean about any behavior that is in violation of our Constitution. Stranglehold on the obvious, I know…
Where is the county sheriff in all of this???
Doug hit the nail on the head. The local police are out of order and should be disciplined for threatening citizens for non-laws. The local sheriff needs to intervene and tell the bullies at the local police office to back off or face charges. We all love the police but they need to know their place. You don’t get to push local liberal agendas and make up laws. We the People won’t take it. We saw what happened during the Plandemic and citizens were compensated by the courts for the enforcement of non-laws by misinformed law enforcement.
This all begs the question, “What part of ‘Shall not be infringed’ do you not understand…”
They are our enemy. Despite what the Tv tells us.
Another infringment on our rights. I am very concerned that local businesses are being coerced and threatened. Where do we draw the line?
Can Idaho Dispatch pursue getting a comment from the County Sheriff? Those constituents need to know how he plans to respond to this infringement!
lazy statists
Too many law enforcement officers hope to stop crime by depriving Americans of their second ammendment rights. Their maniacal focus on crime prevention causes them to think this is the only way to achieve it.
Some cops want to be the only ones carrying firearms.