The Washington Post
Monday, July 2, 2001; Page A16

Don't Gut the Brady Law
Editorial

ATTORNEY GENERAL and NRA life member John Ashcroft found a way last week to do what the U.S. Supreme Court wouldn't: weaken the Brady Law background-check system for handgun purchases. The court had declined to hear the NRA's appeal of a decision upholding the way the FBI handles background-check information. Law enforcement agencies had been retaining records for auditing purposes for up to 180 days, with the time limit set to drop to 90 days effective this week.

But on Thursday, Mr. Ashcroft did the NRA's bidding, announcing plans to hold records for no longer than one business day after a gun sale -- a term that does not allow law enforcement agencies reasonable time to uncover fraud and abuse in gun sales. The attorney general claims that the department "can have that kind of accurate auditing in a very quick time frame," and that the privacy of legitimate gun purchasers needs protection. But that isn't how department lawyers saw it in a brief they filed before the Supreme Court opposing immediate destruction of the records. They contended then that there was a "particularly great" need to conduct audits, given the "valuable information the system provides."

Why destroy a useful tool in curbing sales of guns to people who should not have them? Since its inception, the Brady Law has stopped gun purchases by more than 600,000 lawbreakers. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has introduced legislation requiring the Justice Department to keep records for 90 days. There is no good reason not to keep this valuable gun-safety provision on the books.

http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6733-2001Jul1.html

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