It's an email making the rounds that claims if you own a firearm, and the White House gets its way, you're going to need to let them know about it next time you fill out your tax forms. Dozens of viewers sent me the email over the past month, wondering if it is true. The answer I found for them is the subject of this Fact Finder.

While there are various forms of the email, they all pretty much make the same claim. It goes something like this. There are two bills making their way through Washington, Senate Bill 2099 and House of Representative Bill 45. If they pass, gun owners would need to list how many guns they own on their 2010 federal tax form, and pay up to $50 for each one. The email says the public, and even those in the gun business, don't know about these efforts, because they won't be made public until 30 days after they become law.

I did a little research on Senate Bill 2099. As it turns out it did once exist. If you look through the Library of Congress's past legislation, you can find the text as it was introduced 9 years ago. While it dealt with registration of hand guns, it made little progress, and was never brought to a vote by the U.S. Senate. In the text, there are no direct references to tax forms. It has not been reintroduced since and it appears SB 2099 is all but dead.

So what about the accompanying HR 45? Well, it also exists, but it is currently active. It's also called the Blair Holt's Firearm Act. But the email does not appear very accurate with it either. I contacted Congressman Bart Stupak and asked him what the straight scoop is?

Here is what he told me.

Congressman Stupak said "H.R. 45, which would implement a system to license firearms purchasers and a record of sale. It was introduced in January of 2009 and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, where it will likely languish as it has each time it has been introduced."

In fact, a nearly identical bill was first introduced in 2007, when it never made it out of committee. Congressman Stupak says (as do many on the long list of opponents to the bill) that the current standards of background checks are sufficient. So unless something changes, HR 45 doesn't appear to be making any more progress this time around, than it did in the past.

Something else in the email raised a lot of red flags. The claim that we the public might not now about these acts till its too late, that the bills wouldn't be made public until after they became law. Is that possible? According to Congressman Stupak, "Although there are some exceptions, such as those for legislation funding the intelligence community, all bills must be made available to the public once they are introduced. The complete text of all legislation can be found online, generally 24 hours after it is introduced"

So bottom line when it comes to the email making the rounds regarding SB 2099 and HR 45. The Congressman says it simply "uses false information and scare tactics that have no place in the important discussions taking place on this issue. I urge anyone who receives this email to just hit delete."

Let me know what you think about gun legislation and the current efforts underway in Washington. Leave your thoughts below.