Saturday, January 5, 2019

The Stupid is Strong

12/27/18 Vermont Public Radio:
After Vermont passed historic gun legislation this year, lawmakers wanted to know if the state could play a role in performing background checks.
But a new report from the Department of Public Safety finds that because only licensed dealers can access the federal database system, the state will not be able to offer an alternative to running the background checks through gun shops.
Under federal and state laws anyone who buys a gun from a federally licensed dealer is required to have a background check.
But if a gun is sold just between two people, then the background check is supposed to happen before the sale, also through a dealer.
Public Safety Deputy Commissioner Christopher Herrick said lawmakers wanted to know if the state could set up a new system to give people one more option.
“In multiple phone calls with the FBI, and reviewing federal law and regulation, it became clear that we would not be authorized to have access to the full range of databases that are performed on a normal background check for a gun purchase,” Herrick said.

2 comments:

  1. Sadly, I suspect this obstacle to sale is a feature, not a bug, to many gun control proponents.

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  2. @StormCchaser, +1 to your comment. The Federal NCIC system is better equipped to handle a firearms background check than the state system.

    This is another example of a "feel good law" that does not protect the law abiding nor does it affect the criminals.

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