Senate Passes Legislation
To Improve
National Firearms Background Check System
Leahy-Schumer Led Amendment To
Fix NICS System
Unanimously Passes Senate
WASHINGTON (Wednesday, Dec. 19,
2007) – The Senate Wednesday unanimously passed legislation
designed to improve the National Instant Criminal Background
Check System (NICS), the country’s foremost background check
system for gun purchases. The Senate version of the NICS
Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 was championed by Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Judiciary
Committee member Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and makes improvements
to the Federal and State participation in the national
background check program.
The Senate amendment to the
House-passed legislation, crafted in part to respond to the
tragic shootings at Virginia Tech earlier this year, makes clear
that only correct records will be incorporated into the NICS
system, and that incorrect records will be promptly removed from
the national system. The legislation seeks to enlist the States
as partners in the effort to prevent unlawful gun purchases
through increased resources and support for States in the
improvement of information systems. The Senate Judiciary
Committee first passed reforms to NICS in August when it
reported the School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act
to the full Senate. The bill approved by the Senate on
Wednesday contains provisions to direct Federal and State
agencies to establish relief from disabilities programs through
which individuals who have overcome a disqualifying mental
illness or disability may reclaim their right to purchase or
possess a firearm. Leahy and Schumer successfully shepherded
the legislation through the Senate before Congress recessed for
the year.
“A credible, comprehensive,
up-to-date federal database to provide accurate background
checks benefits everyone,” said Leahy. “At the same time, this
legislation also recognizes the importance of not unduly
infringing Americans’ constitutional rights, and it takes steps
to ensure that those rights are respected. Tragic shootings
across our country are too often ‘breaking news.’ Improving
NICS will help curb the number of firearms that get into the
hands of troubled individuals who should already be disqualified
under Federal law.”
Other sections in the legislation
will:
-
Create a legal regime where
the reporting of disqualifying mental health records on both
the State and Federal level will be improved;
-
Require Federal agencies to
report mental health and other disqualifying records into
NICS;
-
Create new incentives for
States to report mental health and other disqualifying
records;
-
Provide States support to meet
the goals outlined in the NICS Amendments Act.
The Leahy-Schumer legislation will
now return to the House for final approval before heading to the
President’s desk for signing.
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Leahy’s statement on Senate
passage of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 is below:
Statement Of Senator
Patrick Leahy
On Passage Of
Leahy-Schumer Amendment To Improve H.R. 2640,
The NICS Amendments
Improvement Act Of 2007
December 19, 2007
Today, the Senate took an
important step forward to improve the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (NICS), the nation’s background check
system for gun purchases. Along with Senator Schumer, I have
worked hard to craft this compromise legislation that respects
the rights of gun owners and, at the same time, makes sure that
the NICS system will work more effectively. This compromise has
not been easy, as many have strong views on issues surrounding
this bill, but working with Senators on both sides of the aisle,
we have forged strong, fair legislation to address serious
shortcomings in the Federal program. Throughout the process, we
have taken great care to make sure Federal law governing who can
own or possess a firearm remains unchanged. The Senate language
makes clear that the correct records will go into the NICS
system, that any records improperly in NICS will be removed
promptly, that legal notice and due process considerations will
be required in Federal proceedings, and that the States have
sufficient support to meet the goals of the bill. We have been
responsive to the legitimate concerns of veterans and advocates
on both sides of the issue, and at the same time, we have worked
hard to correct weaknesses that have been exposed by the tragic
events of the last year.
The senseless loss of life at
Virginia Tech this spring revealed serious flaws in the NICS
system, particularly in the transfer of mental health
information relevant to gun purchases between the States and the
Federal Government. Deficiencies in the current NICS system,
including a significant lack of funding, permitted the
perpetrator of this terrible crime to obtain firearms and
ammunition despite having a mental health history that made him
ineligible to buy or possess a firearm under Federal law. He
was able to pass a background check and purchase the weapons he
used in his attacks because data was missing from the NICS
system.
In response to this devastating
tragedy, the Judiciary Committee worked hard to produce a
comprehensive legislative proposal related to issues of school
safety, and in August unanimously reported the School Safety and
Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2007 (SSLEIA) to the full
Senate. As part of this legislative package, we drafted Title
II of SSLEIA to include an amended version of the NICS Amendment
Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2640) that passed the House in
July. Today, the Senate passed a revision of Title II from
SSLEIA, as the Leahy-Schumer Amendment to H.R. 2640, which
closes the gaps in the NICS system that allowed the purchase of
the firearms that were used in the Virginia Tech killings. I
hope the House of Representatives will take up and pass H.R.
2640, as amended, as soon as possible.
The Leahy-Schumer Amendment
largely mirrors the language of H.R. 2640 as passed by the
House. But it also makes modest but important changes to that
bill in order to ensure this new law works effectively and
fairly for all Americans. It creates a legal regime where the
reporting of disqualifying mental health records, both at the
State and Federal levels, will be improved. This bill will also
require Federal agencies to report mental health and other
disqualifying records into NICS and would create significant new
incentives for States to report this same information. These
basic features of the amendment are the same as in the House
bill. Additionally, the bill contains provisions directing
Federal agencies to establish relief from disabilities programs
through which individuals who have overcome a disqualifying
mental illness or disability may reclaim their rights, and urges
the States to do the same.
As I reviewed this issue, however,
I determined that additional changes were necessary both to
improve the NICS system further and to better enable States like
Vermont to implement these improvements. By tempering the
penalties for insufficient participation by the States in
meeting the bill’s goals, and increasing incentives for full
participation, I am hopeful that the bill will strengthen the
partnership between Federal and State authorities in search of a
common goal. The NICS system is only as good as the information
that is reported into it, and to achieve success in improving
NICS, we must recognize and adequately support the States in
this challenging undertaking.
I want to thank Paco Aumond,
Director of Criminal Justice Services at the Vermont Department
of Public Safety, for working with me to identify those changes
in the legislation to ensure that Vermont and the many similarly
situated States will be more easily able to make the
comprehensive improvements necessary for a more effective NICS
system.
Nothing can bring back the lives
tragically lost at Virginia Tech, and no legislation can be a
panacea, but the bill we pass today will begin to repair and
restore our faith in the NICS system and may help prevent
similar tragedies in the future.
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