The skeptical statements about ballistic fingerprinting by White House press secretary Ari Fleischer put the administration on the side of the gun industry at a time when national news is dominated by a Washington area sniper who has killed nine people in two weeks.

Five months ago, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which is overseen by Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill, issued a report saying the gun-tracking technology has provided valuable leads for investigators and helped solve many violent crimes involving firearms "which would not have been solved without it."