FBI NICS – LonelyMachines

2013 NICS Numbers

The FBI has released the tally of NICS background checks, broken down by state [pdf]. Georgia had 527,885, which puts us about the middle of the pack. It’s the highest number since the system went on line in 1998. States with over one million checks were Florida, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Texas had the most checks at 1,633,278 and Hawaii came in last at 17,416.

These numbers only tell part of the story, however. Many states, including Georgia, exempt buyers with state-issued carry permits from the NICS check, and a one-time sale of multiple guns only counts as one transaction. On top of that, NICS checks are often run for the issuance of carry permits, among other things that aren’t directly related to the sale of a firearm.

For example, Kentucky appears to be second in the nation, with 1,578,331 checks run, but the state runs a NICS check every month [pdf, p.

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Civil Rights

NICS Reauthorization Act of 2013

The NICS system is up for reauthorization this year. It’s still under debate in the Senate, but here’s what’s going on.

Under Section 103:

(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.–The NICS
Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is
amended–
(1) by striking “as a mental defective” each place that
term appears and inserting “mentally incompetent”;
(2) by striking “mental institution” each place that term
appears and inserting “psychiatric hospital”; and
(3) in section 102(c)(3)–
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking “as a mental
defective or committed to a mental institution” and
inserting “mentally incompetent or committed to a
psychiatric hospital”; and
(B) by striking “mental institutions” and inserting
“psychiatric hospitals”.

Section 106 contains the “Nationwide Project Exile Expansion,” which contains provisions to actually, you know, prosecute people who violate existing laws.

Section 108 has a post Fast & Furious tidbit:

The Department of Justice, and any of its law enforcement coordinate agencies, shall not conduct any operation where a Federal firearms licensee is directed, instructed, enticed, or otherwise encouraged by the Department of Justice to sell a firearm to an individual if the Department of Justice, or a coordinate agency, knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such an individual is purchasing on behalf of another for an illegal purpose

Sections 109 and 110 tighten up the rules a bit on straw purchasing.

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Humor

In Case You’re Wondering…

2 comments

This is what gun dealers have to endure when we’re on hold with the NICS background check center:

It strains sanity and tests even the hardiest soul, especially when I’m stuck on hold for as long as 30 minutes at a time lately. Sometimes, I just turn on speaker phone so I can share the pain.

I have trouble believing that a government that can’t come up with better music than this could possibly effect a nationwide gun confiscation effort.