Gun Control: Improving the National Instant Criminal Background Check System Page: 4 of 20
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Statement
Gun Control: Improving the National Instant Criminal Background Check Systemthat were not completed by the FBI within 3 business days and, according
to the provisions of the Brady Act, the sales were then allowed to proceed
by default.
Recognizing the potential public safety risks associated with prohibited
persons being allowed to purchase firearms, we identified three options to
improve NICS by minimizing the number of transactions involving
prohibited persons that are allowed to proceed by default.Background
NICS Implementation
Effective February 28, 1994, the interim provisions of the Brady Act
required licensed firearms dealers to request a presale background check
on handgun purchasers. These checks generally were to be conducted by
the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO)3 in the purchaser's residence
community to determine, on the basis of available records, if the individual
was legally prohibited from buying the firearm under the provisions of
federal, state, or local law. The sale was not to be completed for 5 business
days unless the dealer received an approval from the CLEO before that
time. If the CLEO did not contact the dealer by the end of the 5-day period,
the dealer could make the sale unless the dealer had reason to believe the
transaction would be unlawful.Beginning on November 30, 1998, the permanent provisions of the Brady
Act became effective with implementation of NICS. Managed by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), NICS is used to make presale
background checks for purchases from licensed firearms dealers of all
firearms, not just handguns.4
Unlike the decentralized background check process under interim Brady,
NICS allows the FBI and states to check a person's eligibility to purchase
firearms using a single, computerized search. The NICS background check
provides centralized access to criminal history and other potentially
disqualifying records by querying three national databases:
* National Crime Information Center 2000 (NCIC 2000). Predating NICS,
NCIC 2000 is the nation's most extensive computerized criminal justice
information system. Among other things, NCIC 2000 contains records on
wanted persons and persons under protection or restraining orders.
' Brady defined a CLEO as the "chief of police, sheriff, or an equivalent officer or the designee of any
such individual." In some states-by agreement among the applicable law enforcement agencies--the
state police department served as the CLEO.
4 NICS background checks are to be performed in connection with firearms transfers and are not to be
limited to firearms sales (see 63 FR 58306). When we use the terms "buyer" or "purchaser," we are also
referring to other firearms recipients, such as individuals redeeming pawned firearms.GAO/T-GGD-00-163
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United States. General Accounting Office. Gun Control: Improving the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, text, June 21, 2000; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc295559/m1/4/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.