OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

NICS Improvement Act

Date: Oct. 3, 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Guns

NICS IMPROVEMENT ACT

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I bring the National Instant Criminal Background Check Improvement Act, formerly called the
Our Lady of Peace Act, to the attention of my colleagues. On March 12, 2002, a priest and a parishioner were killed at the
Our Lady of Peace Church in Lynbrook, NY, by a man who was able to obtain a gun despite the fact that he had a prior disqualifying mental health commitment and a restraining order that should have prevented him from purchasing a gun. The man who committed this double murder passed a Brady background check because the NICS database did not have the necessary information to determine that he was ineligible to purchase a firearm.

The NICS Improvement Act would provide funding to fix the hole in the current NICS background check system caused by the failure of many states to computerize and update their criminal history records. While the Brady check system currently provides fast responses to firearms dealers for over 90 percent of gun purchasers within a few minutes, responses are occasionally delayed because information concerning state and local convictions is not up-to-date or available. This can result in delays for some who lawfully seek to purchase a gun and the failure to block gun sales to some unlawful purchasers. To fix this problem States need adequate funding to input and update criminal history data. This bill would provide $1 billion to help States do just that.

This is not a small problem. According to Americans for Gun Safety, 25 States have automated less than 60 percent of their criminal conviction records. Twenty States do not automate domestic violence or temporary restraining order records. This shortcoming in our public safety system, according to AGS statistics, has allowed over 10,000 prohibited buyers to obtain a gun because the background check could not be completed within the three business days as required by the law.

The NICS Improvement Act has been sponsored by Senators on both sides of the aisle, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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