» Support Brady for Better Background Checks

Colin Goddard was shot four times in a Virginia Tech classroom because the Brady background check system (National Instant Criminal Background Check System - NICS) wasn't good enough. The shooter had been adjudicated mentally ill and according to the 1968 Gun Control Act, he was ineligible to buy guns. 32 people were killed at Virginia Tech largely because the court records weren't being sent to the national database. While Virginia has worked to fix this particular flaw, it turns out other states don't send records into the federal database either.

Improving and expanding the Brady background check system is a signature issue for the Brady Campaign. Failures in our background check system result in too many guns in the wrong hands which contributes to suicides, murders, and mass shootings.

After a deranged individual commits gun violence, family and friends are asked, "Should that person have been allowed to have a gun?"... The answer is usually: "No, Never!"  So why not scrutinize our systems to make them the best they can possibly be, before we give guns to people who are mentally ill? The Brady Campaign with the help of Colin Goddard and other victims is working to improve the NICS system.

» Click here to see the great feedback from NICS participants
» Click here to learn more about the NICS System

Colin Goddard keynotes at the NICS Users Conference.

Feedback:

"I really enjoyed hearing him speak.  Made you step back and think about how much we actually can make a difference"

"After listening to Mr. Goddard, I felt even more proud of the job I perform each day!"

"I think sometimes employees of the NICS need to hear just how important our mission is and the need for change"

PROBLEM: Many states fail to supply complete records of prohibited gun buyers to the national Brady background check system or the Brady Law's National Instant Check System. That means many felons, domestic violence abusers, and those who are dangerously mentally ill can walk into a gun store and buy firearms without being stopped.

The Brady Law, which mandates that federally licensed firearms dealers do background checks on prospective gun purchasers, has prevented over 1.9 million prohibited persons from buying guns. However, a background check is only as good as the records it can search. Unfortunately, many prohibited persons are not blocked from buying guns because their records are not in the NICS, including about 80-90% of individuals with disqualifying mental health records, and one-fourth of those with felony convictions. Ten states do not provide any relevant domestic violence records that indicate prohibited purchasers.

THREAT: Allowing dangerous people to purchase guns threatens the safety of our families and communities. The Virginia Tech tragedy -- 32 students and teachers killed in the worst mass shooting in American history -- is an example of the dangers of this records gap. A court order finding the killer mentally ill and dangerous had not been entered into the Brady background check system by the State of Virginia.

URGENCY: Another tragedy like Virginia Tech could happen again. We must act now to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.

SOLUTION: States must take legislative or administrative action to submit disqualifying records of prohibited purchasers to NICS and ensure that all disqualifying records are submitted to NICS. Congress should fully fund the NICS Improvement Amendments Act to help states submit records.

GET ACTIVE: Contact your Representative and Senators to urge them to fully fund the NICS Improvement Act. To review your state gun laws, click here.

Q. What is the purpose of the Brady Law’s National Instant Check System (NICS)?

A. The purpose of NICS is to find out if a prospective gun buyer is prohibited from purchasing a firearm. When a prospective gun buyer attempts to purchase a gun at a federally licensed gun dealer, state or federal law enforcement authorities must do a Brady criminal background check.

The Brady Law requiring a background check took effect in 1994, after a 7-year battle with the NRA. It initially required purchasers to wait up to five days for a background check to occur before being allowed to purchase a handgun. This provision of the Act expired in 1998 when the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) came online. NICS is managed by the FBI. The system runs database checks on criminal and other disqualifying records.

The Brady Law is named in honor of James Brady, who was President Ronald Reagan’s Press Secretary when both men were shot in an attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981.

Q. Why is a Brady criminal background check important?

A. The Brady criminal background check is important to keep dangerous guns out of the hands of dangerous people. It is a critical law enforcement tool that prevents criminals and other prohibited purchasers from buying guns from gun dealers.� Background checks are very popular with the public.

Since 1994, the Brady Law has stopped over 1.9 million criminals and other prohibited people from purchasing firearms from licensed dealers (US DOJ, 2010, Table 1).

Q. Aren’t all disqualifying records in NICS?

A. No. Unfortunately, many prohibited persons are not blocked from buying guns because their records are not in NICS, including about 80-90% of disqualifying mental health records, and 25% of felony convictions. Ten states do not provide relevant domestic violence records that indicate prohibited purchasers (Third Way, 2007). A background check is only as good as the records it can search.

The Virginia Tech tragedy, in which 32 students and teachers were killed in the worst mass shooting in American history, is an example of the dangers of this records gap. A court order finding the killer mentally ill and dangerous was not entered into the Brady background check system.

Q. What has Congress done to help strengthen NICS?

A. The NICS Improvement Amendments Act passed the Congress on December 19, 2007, and was signed by the President on January 8, 2008. The new law provides incentives to states to provide records of prohibited persons to NICS, and requires federal agencies to do so. The NICS Act provides for financial assistance to aid states in sending records to NICS and financial penalties if they fail to provide records. Importantly, the NICS Act should ultimately help block hundreds of thousands of prohibited buyers who are not presently stopped by the Brady Law because their names are not in NICS.

Q. What can states do to solve the problem and improve a state’s ability to prohibit gun purchasers from buying guns?

A. States must submit disqualifying records to NICS and ensure that all disqualifying records are submitted. The result will be that when prohibited purchasers go to purchase guns at a federally licensed dealer they will be stopped by the background check.

Numerous states are now taking steps to report more records to NICS because of the attention given to the issue by the NICS Act, but many states are still not submitting disqualifying mental health records to NICS and many states still are not transmitting all of their felony records. This allows dangerous people to purchase guns even though they should be denied.

Q. What is the NRA’s position on improving NICS?

A. After the Virginia Tech tragedy, the National Rifle Association (NRA) supported the NICS Improvement Act to encourage states to provide more disqualifying records to NICS. The NRA also supports state legislation designed to transmit more disqualifying records to NICS.

Q. Federal law prohibits people who are dangerously mentally ill from purchasing or possessing a gun. Does the NICS Act change who is covered by this prohibition?

A. No. The NICS Act does not change the prohibition enacted in 1968 that bars people who are dangerously mentally ill from purchasing or possessing a gun. Under federal law, people may not buy or possess a gun if they are “adjudicated as a mental defective” or “committed to any mental institution.” ATF regulations define “adjudicated as a mental defective” as a:

determination by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority that a person, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease: (1) Is a danger to himself or others; or (2) Lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs.

The NICS Act has not changed these regulations. It should be noted that merely seeking or receiving treatment for mental illness does not bring someone within this prohibited class.

The NICS Act does provide that persons who are entered into NICS because of this mental illness prohibition may seek “relief from disabilities” by petitioning that their names be removed from NICS if they no longer suffer from the mental health condition that originally barred them from buying or possessing guns.

Q. What can I do?

A. Call your Congressmember and Senators to urge them to fully fund the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007. If your state has not passed a law to improve the submission of records to NICS, contact your state legislators. To review your state's gun laws, click here.

Sources

Third Way, Missing Records: Holes in Background Check System Allow Illegal Buyers to Get Guns, Washington, DC: The Third Way Culture Project, May 2007

U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2009: Statistical Tables (October 2010)