Fix NICS Bill Heading to Committee
Kevin Felts 11.22.17
There was once a time when background checks did not exist. Anyone could walk into a gun store and buy a firearm, unhindered. All of that changed when President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act into law on November 30, 1993.
Part of the Brady Bill established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, also known as NICS. People who’d had their right to own a a firearm taken away were supposed to be reported to NICS. When someone attempts to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer, the dealer is required to call NICS and a check is run on the buyer. The purchase is either approved, denied, or delayed.
All of that is fine and dandy until someone slips through NICS, such as Devin Patrick Kelley. Kelley had a conviction for family violence and had been committed to a mental health facility. The family violence conviction should have been enough to prohibit him from buying a firearm.
In the case of Devin Patrick Kelley, the Air Force failed to report his conviction to NICS. This has prompted congress to introduce a “Fix NICS bill.” Members of congress from both sides of the aisle have come together to work on this bill.
The intended purpose of Fix NICS is to make sure people are reported to NICS. States would receive money for accurate reporting, or they could have money taken away for not reporting.
However, it seems not everyone is happy with the Bill.
From a Gun Owners of America email I received:
Texas Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn unveiled a gun control “deal” with vehemently anti-gun Democrat Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT).
Early reports are that the bill’s aim is to create a national gun control “Super Database” to strip Second Amendment rights from more law-abiding gun owners without due process.
As I’ve told you recently, Cornyn has been flirting with gun control legislation since the recent Texas Shooting.
Instead of protecting the gun rights of law-abiding citizens like the hero who stopped the killer, Cornyn is working behind closed doors with Feinstein.
[…]
I’m afraid this is amounting to a very serious threat to gun owners.
Cornyn, the Senate’s #2 Republican, is handing Feinstein the opportunity to push gun control she never got when President Obama was in the White House.
And if this bill gains steam in the Senate, mark my words, it will get a whole lot worse.
Massive new gun bans and prohibitions on firearm components and accessories — even GUN CONFICSATION — could all be on the table.
Opinion
I am opposed to any gun law that punishes law-abiding citizens. As far as I understand, the Fix NICS Bill is directed towards people who have had their right to own a gun taken away through due process — meaning the person was charged with a crime, had a trial and an opportunity to present their own evidence, and either pled guilty or was convicted by a jury.
Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but all this “Fix NICS” bill does is provide financial incentive to states who accurately report offenders to NICS.
A copy of the bill can be found here: Fix NICS Act.
On the other hand, if the government would actually enforce gun laws, there would be many fewer criminals on the streets. In a seven-year period, Cook County Illinois dismissed 13,000 gun cases. Shouldn’t we demand the government enforce current laws before anything else is passed?
