Congress to revisit background checks for gun buyers

Supporters of reform legislation hope it has a better likelihood of passing this year, with the change in congressional leadership and the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

from the April 23, 2007 edition

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So even if Cho had been denied a gun at a licensed gun shop, he could have bought one at a nearby gun show, according to Robyn Thomas, executive director of Legal Community Against Violence, a San Francisco-based legal-services organization dedicated to ending gun violence.

Another problem with the system, according to critics, is that if a gun dealer doesn't hear back from state or federal authorities within three days, he or she can sell the gun anyway.

Another key concern of critics: State records sometime don't make it to the federal NICS database. Twenty-five states have computerized only 60 percent of their criminal records. Thirteen states do not share information about domestic-violence restraining orders, and 33 states have not automated or do not share records of mental-health adjudications, as required by the federal law. "Part of the problem is that there is no standardized, centralized way in which that mental-health data is kept," says Ms. Thomas.

The bill to reform NICS, which is co-sponsored by Representative Dingell and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D) of New York, would not address the so-called private-sale loophole or extend the three-day limit for background checks, as federal law-enforcement officials have recommended in the past. But it would require state and federal agencies to provide updated and accurate criminal background and mental-health records to the NICS system. It would also create a grant program to help states computerize records.

"While maintaining NICS records ultimately is the responsibility of the states, state budgets are already overburdened," said Representative McCarthy in a statement. "The NICS Improvement Act will give states the resources to eliminate the legal loopholes that allow prohibited individuals from legally purchasing firearms."

Some gun advocates are supporting the reform legislation. But others, like Gun Owners of America, are opposed. "Our view is that if someone is a danger to themselves or society, as apparently many people thought Cho was, then he shouldn't be on the streets," says Erich Pratt, spokesman for Gun Owners of America.

But gun-control advocates contend that if the law worked as it should have, it would have at least been more difficult for Cho to buy a firearm. Other checks would have made a gun purchase even harder.

"In most states, it's harder to get a job at McDonald's than it is a gun," says Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington. "The American people would be willing to put up with a little more red tape if it stops some of the yellow crime-scene tape."

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