LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/wires/20010627/tCB00V7876.html

Wednesday, June 27, 2001

Gun Check Records Spark Concern

Associated Press Writer

    WASHINGTON--A gun control group says the Bush administration is
considering shortening the time that records are preserved from instant
background checks on gun purchases.
    "Cutting the time will drive a stake into the heart" of the Brady gun
control law, said Mathew Nosanchuk, litigation director at the Violence
Policy Center.
    A Justice Department spokeswoman, Susan Dryden, said the agency would
not comment on "speculation."
    Nosanchuk said Wednesday the administration is moving to require that
records from the checks are retained for 45 days. A Clinton administration
regulation, set to take effect in January but twice delayed by the current
Justice Department, would have required keeping records for 90 days after
a handgun purchase is attempted.
    The records give the FBI time to check for fraud and abuse in the gun
purchasing system. Audits have uncovered instances in which dealers have
tried to sell guns without conducting background checks, the FBI has said.
They also have helped in identifying possible "straw purchases," where
individuals buy guns for people who have been denied purchases.
    The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act requires gun sellers to
request background checks on individuals attempting to purchase firearms.
The law is named after James Brady, press secretary to President Reagan
who was shot in the head and permanently disabled during an assassination
attempt on Reagan in 1981.
    The Justice Department is reviewing the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System, under which on-the-spot background checks are
done through the FBI while would-be gun buyers wait.
    In the meantime, the department is adhering to an earlier guideline
of preserving the background check information for 180 days, officials
said.
    The Violence Policy Center recently sued the department, arguing that
it illegally was delaying the new regulation.
    Nosanchuk said retaining records for 45 days does not provide enough
time for audits that have uncovered improper use of the system.
    The National Rifle Association opposes the government's policy of
retaining records, saying it amounts to compiling a national registry of
gun owners.
    The NRA sued the Justice Department to have the records disposed of
immediately after the background checks are conducted. The suit was
dismissed and the Supreme Court on Monday let stand the lower court
ruling.
    Attorney General John Ashcroft, while a senator from Missouri, voted
in favor of an amendment that sought instant destruction of background
check documents. The amendment was defeated.
    Over 18 million checks have been conducted since the instant
background check system began in November 1998.
    The FBI reported last year that information generated from background
checks was automatically purged from system within the time allowed by
regulation.
   
- - -
    On the Net:
    Violence Policy Center: http://www.vpc.org/
    Justice Department: http://www.usdoj.gov
    National Rifle Association: http://www.nra.org/

Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times

[puke](Brady Bill)
Any Questions????