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Concerns with NICS Improvement Act of 2007

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"...the National Rifle Association still wields tremendous influence in the halls of Congress and their blessing is required for any bill that enforces or creates gun laws."
- Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, The Huffington Post, July 27, 2007

H.R. 2640, the "NICS Improvement Act of 2007," was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy at the start of the 1st Session of the 110th Congress. The premise of the bill was to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that is relied upon to identify prohibited gun purchasers attempting to buy firearms from licensed dealers.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy 
originally introduced the 
NICS Improvement Act in
2002, when it passed the
House
Rep. McCarthy's original bill created a simple grant program to the states to accomplish this goal. The National Rifle Association (NRA) was permitted to add extensive language to the bill, however, the day before it passed the House by a voice vote on June 13, 2007. After Sen. Tom Coburn placed a hold on the bill in the Senate, he won additional concessions on behalf of the NRA and an even more extreme group, Gun Owners of America. The legislation was passed by the Senate on December 19, 2007, with the House concurring later that same day. President Bush signed the bill into law on January 7, 2008.

The gun lobby's additions to the bill contradict its original stated purpose and do the following:

  • Resurrect a failed, multi-million-dollar "relief from disability" program to restore gun purchasing privileges to individuals restricted because of mental health disability, even though the original program was defunded because it rearmed numerous criminals, including a terrorist. 

  • Significantly narrow the category of records of people with mental disabilities that would be submitted to the NICS by the federal government. For those records, the current permanent bar on persons with certain health disabilities would be replaced with temporary restrictions.

  • Restore gun ownership rights to veterans who were previously disqualified due to mental illness.  A recent study reports that male veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide than males without a history of military service. Another study, by the Department of Defense, described the current military mental health care system as "woefully inadequate."

  • Set an arbitrary time limit for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to act on applications for “relief.” If the agency fails to act within 365 days, applicants could file a lawsuit asking a court to restore their gun privileges, even if Congress fails to provide the VA with the appropriate resources to process these investigations. Some prevailing applicants would even be entitled to attorneys’ fees.

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), along with the Violence Policy Center (VPC) and Legal Community Against Violence (LCAV), opposed the NICS Improvement Act.

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