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Fort Worth Star Telegram (Texas)
April 28, 2003, Monday FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 1589 words
HEADLINE: Unfit buyers slip by gun screening
BYLINE: KELLY MELHART; Star-Telegram Staff Writer
HIGHLIGHT:
GUNS: Little has been done to correct several problems with the FBI's instant background check system that were detailed three years ago in a report from the General Accounting Office.
BODY:
The FBI's instant background check system, established to help
prevent felons and the mentally ill from buying guns, is riddled
with cracks because many states are slow in providing crucial
information or don't provide it at all.
Among the states with the poorest records is Texas, which does
not report involuntary commitments to mental institutions to the
FBI and provides incomplete criminal information.
In early April, a Hurst woman slipped through one of the cracks.
Kristal Locke, who had been committed by a judge to a mental
institution in 1982 after a jury found her incompetent to stand
trial, bought a gun after passing the FBI check.
A day after buying the gun, police say, Locke, 78, fatally shot
Linda Rae Porter, a neighbor she thought was trying to steal her
boyfriend. The man in question says he had no relationship with
either woman. The criminal case against Locke is pending. She is
being held in the Tarrant County Jail.
Under the 1968 Gun Control Act, federal law forbids eight
categories of people from buying guns from federally licensed
dealers. Among them are convicted felons and those who have been found mentally defective by a court or committed to a mental
institution by a court, a family member or someone else. People can buy guns if they have previously voluntarily checked themselves into a mental institution.
Texas officials say that they do not share records on mental
health commitments with the federal government.
"Mental health records are considered superprivate," said Paul
Mascot, deputy director of legal services for the Texas Department
of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. "My understanding is there is no access."
State criminal records also are incomplete because many arrests
and felony convictions are not in computer databases that would
allow them to be readily shared.
The Texas Department of Public Safety maintains a database of
criminal convictions and arrests, but it depends on counties to
supply the data.
"They have to do most of this on their own," said Margie Kyser
with the DPS. "We help them out occasionally, but our records are
only so complete, depending on what each county sends us."
To get more detailed information, the FBI would have "to call
every county in Texas," Kyser said. "It's tough on them."
Federal officials acknowledge the need for reform. A report in
2000 from the federal General Accounting Office details flaws with
the National Instant Criminal Background Check System -- flaws that remain uncorrected three years later. Foremost among the flaws: States aren't sharing relevant information, so the database is incomplete.
"There are probably millions of felons, domestic abusers and
mentally ill who are not in the system," said Matt Bennett,
director of public affairs for the Americans for Gun Safety
Foundation, based in Washington, D.C. "The states have done a
terrible job of automating, computerizing their records and making
them available to the FBI."
Twenty-four states have less than 60 percent of their felony
convictions computerized, according to a report the foundation
issued in 2002. If a record is not electronic, investigators must
conduct a paper search, which can take weeks.
The report, "Broken Records: How America's Faulty Background
Check System Allows Criminals to Get Guns," graded states on their record-keeping and sharing. Texas got an F.
According to the most recent report from the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, published this month, only about one-third of the
states give federal authorities access to records on people with
relevant mental histories. Texas is not among them.
The federal background check system was established in 1993 as
part of the Brady Bill, a federal law that mandated background
checks before selling a gun. The system was touted as a way to give eligible gun buyers instant access to firearms while preventing criminals and others who are banned from having weapons.
The federal government was given five years to make the system
operational, and in the interim a five-day waiting period for gun
purchases was established. In 1998, the system was up and running, and the five-day wait disappeared. Under federal law, authorities now have up to three days to complete a background check. If they are late, the gun dealer may sell the weapon anyway.
The system is based in West Virginia. Several databases are
searched, including the National Crime Information Center, which
contains records on fugitives and restraining orders; the
Interstate Identification Index, which contains criminal history
records; and the NICS index, which contains records of people
dishonorably discharged from the military, undocumented immigrants, people involuntarily committed to mental institutions and others prohibited from owning a gun.
The system has more than 37 million records and was designed for a search to take less than 30 seconds; federal and other authorized authorities use it.
The background check system has drawn the ire of gun-control
advocates and of gun-rights proponents.
Groups such as Americans for Gun Safety complain that the system is incomplete but continues to be used anyway as the definitive check for most gun sellers in the county.
The National Rifle Association says that although the system is
supposed to provide an instant answer, checks can take three days or longer in some states. Better information would yield quicker answers, they say.
Both groups supported legislation in the 2001-02 congressional
session that would have compelled states to provide all relevant
records to the national system. The bill passed the House but not
the Senate before the session ended.
New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-Garden City, who sponsored the bill in the House, said she will again submit the bill, the Our
Lady of Peace Act, within the next two weeks. As before, the bill
has the backing of traditional legislative adversaries NRA and
Americans for Gun Control.
The bill was named for a church in Lynbrook, N.Y., where a
priest and parishioner were fatally shot by a man who had recently bought a gun despite three involuntary committals to a mental hospital. Like Locke, the man passed the FBI's instant check.
McCarthy, whose husband was killed and whose son was injured
during the Long Island Railroad Massacre shooting of 1993, is
passionate about "the gun issue." She said that after the Lynbrook shooting, she investigated how often people with relevant mental histories slip through the cracks.
"Unfortunately it happens a lot," she said. "The NICS system is
only as good as the information that states give. ... We've been
trying to work with the FBI. They're doing the best they can."
The Our Lady of Peace bill would help, she said.
The measure would offer states a total of $250 million as an
incentive to computerize mental-health and other relevant records
and submit them to the FBI's system. It would require states to
provide the relevant information and would require the U.S.
Attorney General to work with federal, state and mental health
authorities to keep the information private.
States that don't computerize at least 95 percent of relevant
records within five years would lose 10 percent of the funds
allocated to them through the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968, which gives federal money to local law
enforcement agencies to help reduce crime. The funding would be
withheld each year until the state reaches the 95 percent
requirement.
The bill would be "putting the carrot in front of the states,"
McCarthy said. "It's almost what we do with our roads. The states
have to do certain things to get road money.
"I understand the gun culture. I understand people love their
guns. We just want to make sure states comply with the law."
A federal law could override Texas' privacy provisions on mental
health records. Already, people applying for a concealed-handgun
licenses in Texas sign a consent to release form that allows their
mental health records to be searched, Mascot said. Using the same system for gun sales has not been discussed, he said.
The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
does not keep records of those treated in private institutions.
Some states, such as Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Missouri, New Jersey and Rhode Island, have formed their own
background check databases that are used in addition to the federal check, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics report.
Twelve states, not including Texas, require waiting periods
before a handgun may be sold. Other states stop gun dealers from selling a firearm until the background check is complete, even if it takes more than three days. Colorado and Florida prohibit people arrested for certain crimes from buying a firearm, even if they have not been convicted. Those people can appeal the decision, and if they can show they have not been convicted, they can regain the right to buy the weapon.
Staff Writer Domingo Ramirez Contributed to This Report.
ONLINE: Americans for Gun Safety Foundation,
www.americansforgunsafety.com
Bureau of Justice Statistics, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs General
Accounting Office, www.gao.gov National Rifle Association,
www.nra.org
Kelly Melhart, (817) 685-3854 [email protected]
April 28, 2003, Monday FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 1589 words
HEADLINE: Unfit buyers slip by gun screening
BYLINE: KELLY MELHART; Star-Telegram Staff Writer
HIGHLIGHT:
GUNS: Little has been done to correct several problems with the FBI's instant background check system that were detailed three years ago in a report from the General Accounting Office.
BODY:
The FBI's instant background check system, established to help
prevent felons and the mentally ill from buying guns, is riddled
with cracks because many states are slow in providing crucial
information or don't provide it at all.
Among the states with the poorest records is Texas, which does
not report involuntary commitments to mental institutions to the
FBI and provides incomplete criminal information.
In early April, a Hurst woman slipped through one of the cracks.
Kristal Locke, who had been committed by a judge to a mental
institution in 1982 after a jury found her incompetent to stand
trial, bought a gun after passing the FBI check.
A day after buying the gun, police say, Locke, 78, fatally shot
Linda Rae Porter, a neighbor she thought was trying to steal her
boyfriend. The man in question says he had no relationship with
either woman. The criminal case against Locke is pending. She is
being held in the Tarrant County Jail.
Under the 1968 Gun Control Act, federal law forbids eight
categories of people from buying guns from federally licensed
dealers. Among them are convicted felons and those who have been found mentally defective by a court or committed to a mental
institution by a court, a family member or someone else. People can buy guns if they have previously voluntarily checked themselves into a mental institution.
Texas officials say that they do not share records on mental
health commitments with the federal government.
"Mental health records are considered superprivate," said Paul
Mascot, deputy director of legal services for the Texas Department
of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. "My understanding is there is no access."
State criminal records also are incomplete because many arrests
and felony convictions are not in computer databases that would
allow them to be readily shared.
The Texas Department of Public Safety maintains a database of
criminal convictions and arrests, but it depends on counties to
supply the data.
"They have to do most of this on their own," said Margie Kyser
with the DPS. "We help them out occasionally, but our records are
only so complete, depending on what each county sends us."
To get more detailed information, the FBI would have "to call
every county in Texas," Kyser said. "It's tough on them."
Federal officials acknowledge the need for reform. A report in
2000 from the federal General Accounting Office details flaws with
the National Instant Criminal Background Check System -- flaws that remain uncorrected three years later. Foremost among the flaws: States aren't sharing relevant information, so the database is incomplete.
"There are probably millions of felons, domestic abusers and
mentally ill who are not in the system," said Matt Bennett,
director of public affairs for the Americans for Gun Safety
Foundation, based in Washington, D.C. "The states have done a
terrible job of automating, computerizing their records and making
them available to the FBI."
Twenty-four states have less than 60 percent of their felony
convictions computerized, according to a report the foundation
issued in 2002. If a record is not electronic, investigators must
conduct a paper search, which can take weeks.
The report, "Broken Records: How America's Faulty Background
Check System Allows Criminals to Get Guns," graded states on their record-keeping and sharing. Texas got an F.
According to the most recent report from the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, published this month, only about one-third of the
states give federal authorities access to records on people with
relevant mental histories. Texas is not among them.
The federal background check system was established in 1993 as
part of the Brady Bill, a federal law that mandated background
checks before selling a gun. The system was touted as a way to give eligible gun buyers instant access to firearms while preventing criminals and others who are banned from having weapons.
The federal government was given five years to make the system
operational, and in the interim a five-day waiting period for gun
purchases was established. In 1998, the system was up and running, and the five-day wait disappeared. Under federal law, authorities now have up to three days to complete a background check. If they are late, the gun dealer may sell the weapon anyway.
The system is based in West Virginia. Several databases are
searched, including the National Crime Information Center, which
contains records on fugitives and restraining orders; the
Interstate Identification Index, which contains criminal history
records; and the NICS index, which contains records of people
dishonorably discharged from the military, undocumented immigrants, people involuntarily committed to mental institutions and others prohibited from owning a gun.
The system has more than 37 million records and was designed for a search to take less than 30 seconds; federal and other authorized authorities use it.
The background check system has drawn the ire of gun-control
advocates and of gun-rights proponents.
Groups such as Americans for Gun Safety complain that the system is incomplete but continues to be used anyway as the definitive check for most gun sellers in the county.
The National Rifle Association says that although the system is
supposed to provide an instant answer, checks can take three days or longer in some states. Better information would yield quicker answers, they say.
Both groups supported legislation in the 2001-02 congressional
session that would have compelled states to provide all relevant
records to the national system. The bill passed the House but not
the Senate before the session ended.
New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-Garden City, who sponsored the bill in the House, said she will again submit the bill, the Our
Lady of Peace Act, within the next two weeks. As before, the bill
has the backing of traditional legislative adversaries NRA and
Americans for Gun Control.
The bill was named for a church in Lynbrook, N.Y., where a
priest and parishioner were fatally shot by a man who had recently bought a gun despite three involuntary committals to a mental hospital. Like Locke, the man passed the FBI's instant check.
McCarthy, whose husband was killed and whose son was injured
during the Long Island Railroad Massacre shooting of 1993, is
passionate about "the gun issue." She said that after the Lynbrook shooting, she investigated how often people with relevant mental histories slip through the cracks.
"Unfortunately it happens a lot," she said. "The NICS system is
only as good as the information that states give. ... We've been
trying to work with the FBI. They're doing the best they can."
The Our Lady of Peace bill would help, she said.
The measure would offer states a total of $250 million as an
incentive to computerize mental-health and other relevant records
and submit them to the FBI's system. It would require states to
provide the relevant information and would require the U.S.
Attorney General to work with federal, state and mental health
authorities to keep the information private.
States that don't computerize at least 95 percent of relevant
records within five years would lose 10 percent of the funds
allocated to them through the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968, which gives federal money to local law
enforcement agencies to help reduce crime. The funding would be
withheld each year until the state reaches the 95 percent
requirement.
The bill would be "putting the carrot in front of the states,"
McCarthy said. "It's almost what we do with our roads. The states
have to do certain things to get road money.
"I understand the gun culture. I understand people love their
guns. We just want to make sure states comply with the law."
A federal law could override Texas' privacy provisions on mental
health records. Already, people applying for a concealed-handgun
licenses in Texas sign a consent to release form that allows their
mental health records to be searched, Mascot said. Using the same system for gun sales has not been discussed, he said.
The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
does not keep records of those treated in private institutions.
Some states, such as Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Missouri, New Jersey and Rhode Island, have formed their own
background check databases that are used in addition to the federal check, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics report.
Twelve states, not including Texas, require waiting periods
before a handgun may be sold. Other states stop gun dealers from selling a firearm until the background check is complete, even if it takes more than three days. Colorado and Florida prohibit people arrested for certain crimes from buying a firearm, even if they have not been convicted. Those people can appeal the decision, and if they can show they have not been convicted, they can regain the right to buy the weapon.
Staff Writer Domingo Ramirez Contributed to This Report.
ONLINE: Americans for Gun Safety Foundation,
www.americansforgunsafety.com
Bureau of Justice Statistics, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs General
Accounting Office, www.gao.gov National Rifle Association,
www.nra.org
Kelly Melhart, (817) 685-3854 [email protected]
