Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,56719,00.html
Convicted? Need a Gun? No Problem
By Lia Steakley
02:00 AM Dec. 10, 2002 PT
Each week Joe McBride's Austin, Texas, gun shop performs some 400 instant background checks on prospective gun buyers, but McBride can't say for sure if the customers walking out the door with a new firearm are law abiding.
Since the creation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check, or NICS, administered by the FBI to screen firearm sales, 10,000 people forbidden from owning guns have obtained them despite FBI screenings, according to the Bureau of Alcohol and Firearms.
The poor quality of criminal records maintained by states is the main reason the NICS system fails to identify individuals prohibited from acquiring guns, said Jim Kessler, policy director of the Americans for Gun Safety foundation.
Background checks for potential firearm owners have been required since 1994 under the Brady Act, which forbids felons, drug addicts, spousal abusers, illegal aliens and fugitives from obtaining a gun. Prior to the creation of the NICS, background checks were done manually and took more than a week to complete.
Through an electronic collection of records from the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and state and local agencies, the NICS reduced the duration of these checks to the amount of time it takes Starbucks to verify your VISA card.
Federal agents, gun control advocates and representatives of Congress agree the problem lies in the states' hands.
States are not obligated to automate felony conviction, domestic violence and mental health records or to transmit those files to the NICS database.
With 1,142 cases, Texas ranks first among states where guns have been sold to people prohibited from purchasing firearms. The Lone Star State is followed by Alabama, Ohio, Arkansas and Louisiana. All told, these five states sell 35 percent of the guns acquired by unlawful citizens, according to Americans for Gun Safety.
State officials say it is up to their legislatures to decide if the current system needs fixing.
"Pre-sale firearms checks are performed directly with the FBI using the NICS rather than through a state program that interfaces with the FBI," said David Gavin, assistant chief of administration for the Texas State Patrol. "Such a program would require legislative authority to be established, hire personnel and charge fees. The Texas legislature has not created such a program."
However, federal officials say the states must ensure all criminal documents are included in the NICS.
"Since these are state records, each state is responsible for automating them," said Philip Caramia, senior analyst for the General Accounting Office.
Since 1995 the federal government has provided state governments with $3.5 million to convert paper files to an electronic format so they can be uploaded to the NICS.
But even with federal financing, only 25 states have more than 60 percent of their records automated, according to the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation.
The NICS database should be able to access the 64 million felony, domestic abuse, immigration and arrest warrant documents to process background checks. However, 7 million are not electronically accessible because they are manual records. An additional 16 million are housed in state databases, which are not instantly available during federal checks, said Caramia.
"If the records are not in a national system, then a person can still buy a gun. Because the records are housed only in the state's database, then the buyer can travel outside of the state to purchase a gun," said Lisa Vincent, assistant operations manager for NICS.
Legislation aimed at plugging holes in the electronic database used by the FBI to prevent illegal gun purchases recently stalled in the House.
Supported by the National Rifle Association and penned by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), the Our Lady of Peace Act directed the Justice Department to collaborate with states to develop protocols for electronically transmitting criminal records to the NICS.
In addition, the measure allocated $250 million to underwrite the cost of establishing or upgrading states' record-keeping technology.
"The reason the bill didn't pass the Senate had a lot to do with November's elections and the threat of terrorism," said Cecelia Prewett, McCarthy communications director. "The Senate got bogged down passing terrorism legislation. It was a short amount of time to get a lot in."
McCarthy plans to resurrect the Our Lady of Peace Act when congress convenes in January, Prewett said.
