Details- Sponsor - McCarthy
- Proposed - March 17, 2005
- Congressional Record Link - HR1415
- Amends - None.
- Amendments - None.
- Vote - None yet.
- Results - No change in law.
- For the 110th Congress, check out House Bill 297 - NICS Improvement Act of 2007.
StatusMarch 17, 2005 - Referred to the House Judiciary Committee. May 10, 2005 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. June 7, 2005 - The bill now has 9 cosponsors. McCarthy plugs her bill in front the entire House. See her remarks below. Senator McCarthy has repeatedly had remarks entered into the Congressional Record about this bill. Follow the link to the CR above if you are interested in reading them. May 3, 2006 - Judiciary Committee hearing on H.R.1415. May 11, 2006 - Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held. May 18, 2006 - Passed back to the full Judiciary Committee without amendment. July 26, 2006 - Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled. No work done.
SynopsisThe theory driving this bill is the idea that state reporting to the federal government NICS database is inadequate. It mandates improvements to state reporting. From the Congressional Record: NICS Improvement Act of 2005 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require: (1) the head of each Federal agency that has records relating to persons for whom receipt of a firearm would violate Federal or State law to provide that information to the Attorney General for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); (2) the agency, upon being made aware that the basis under which a record was made available no longer applies, to correct the record and notify the Attorney General; and (3) the Secretary of Homeland Security to make available to the Attorney General records relevant to a determination that a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm and information about a change in such person's status for removal from NICS, where appropriate.Directs the Attorney General to make grants to: (1) States and Indian tribal governments to establish or upgrade information and identification technologies for firearms eligibility determinations; and (2) States for use by the State court system to improve the automation and transmittal to Federal and State record repositories of criminal history dispositions, records relevant to determining whether a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, court orders, and mental health adjudications or commitments.Requires: (1) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to study and evaluate NICS operations and to report annually to Congress and to specified States regarding best practices; and (2) the Comptroller General to conduct an audit of the expenditure of all funds appropriated for criminal records improvement to determine how the funds were expended.
AnalysisA year after introduction this bill now has 30 cosponsors and is gaining momentum. Any bill from Mrs. McCarthy is considered with extreme skepticism. This bill seems appropriate as it does not expand the pool of prohibited persons. But it would be much better if it refunded the DOJ program to return the 2nd Amendment rights of those who are appropriate. Lautenberg victims would be a large source of such individuals.
Remarks - June 7, 2005
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mack). Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. McCarthy of New York. Mr. Speaker, the NICS system, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, is the database used to check potential firearm buyers for any criminal record or history of mental illness.
In large part, NICS has been a success. Since 1994, more than 700,000 individuals were denied a gun for failing the background check. However, the NICS system is only as good as the information States provide. Twenty-five States have automated less than 60 percent of their felony convictions into the NICS system. In these States, many felons will not turn up on the NICS system and would be able to purchase guns with no questions asked. In 13 States, domestic violence restraining orders are not accessible through the NICS system. Common sense would dictate that you do not sell a gun to someone who has been served with a restraining order. Thirty-three States have not automated or do not share mental health records that could disqualify certain individuals from buying a gun.
Sadly, this particular loophole in the NICS system cost two of my constituents their lives. On March 8, 2002, Peter Troy purchased a .22 caliber semiautomatic rifle. He had a history of mental health problems, and his own mother had a restraining order against him as a result of his violent background. It was illegal for him to purchase a gun; but like so many others, he simply slipped through the cracks of the NICS system. Four days later, Peter Troy walked into Our Lady of Peace Church in Lynbrook, New York, opened fire, and killed the Reverend Lawrence Penzes and Eileen Tosner.
Peter Troy had no business buying a gun, and the system created to prevent him from doing so failed. It is only a matter of time before the system's failings provoke larger tragedies. We must fix the NICS system now.
While we lay the responsibility for the NICS system on the States, many State budgets are already overburdened, which is why I introduced H.R. 1415 , the NICS Improvement Act. This legislation would provide grants to States to update the NICS system. States would be able to update the NICS databases to include felons, people with certain mental and emotional disabilities, and domestic abusers. It is actually enforcing the 1962 gun control law.
We need the NICS Improvement Act to become law, and we need more bills like this to be passed. These are ideas that impose no new restrictions on gun owners, but give the government the tools to ensure existing laws are effective and enforceable.
In fact, the NICS Improvement Act already passed the House in the 107th Congress by a voice vote. The bill had the endorsement of the National Rifle Association. Unfortunately, the other body never acted on the bill.
This is commonsense gun legislation we can all agree on. This bill will save lives while not infringing on anybody's second amendment rights.
[Page: H4162] GPO's PDF Mr. Speaker, I call on the Congress to act quickly on H.R. 1415 . If we can prevent a tragedy like the one that occurred at the Our Lady of Peace Church with a simple voice vote, why should we not do it right away?
Mr. Speaker, I call on the Congress to act quickly on . If we can prevent a tragedy like the one that occurred at the Our Lady of Peace Church with a simple voice vote, why should we not do it right away?
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