J.D. Tuccille has a great piece over at Reason.com on the problems with Chuck and Amy Schumer's push to add more mental health records to the National Instant Check System (NICS). Tuccille points out the main problem with the proposal is the arbitrary way that individuals are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others:
“On one extreme, I've seen at least one case where an applicant was unable to appeal his denial because local police entered an ominous but vague warning in his NICS entry that he was ‘dangerous,’ and thus he had no way of even knowing what motivated police to enter this record in the first place,” notes Jennifer Carlson, an assistant professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto and author of this year’s Citizen-Protectors: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline. “And on the other extreme, I've come across cases where individuals with repeated domestic violence issues--including documented physical harm--are told they can have ‘one more chance’ despite--at least in my view--presenting some pretty clear-cut evidence as to their ‘danger to self and others.’"
“This level of arbitrariness is a problem,” she adds. “And I don't think anyone on either side of the gun debate really has come to terms with how uneven our records are--whether because of poor procedure, lack of resources, or arbitrary decision-making.”
Another problem with the proposal, one that has been discussed more than once when the issue of mental health comes up, is making sure people who need help are not discouraged from seeking help:
“There’s a lot of criticism about denying more people their Second Amendment rights based on mental illness,” notes Prof. James Jacobs, Director of the Center for Research in Crime and Justice at New York University School of Law and author of Can Gun Control Work?, published in 2002. “Mental health professionals think it will deter people from seeking help and will stigmatize the mentally ill.”
“Would we say that anybody who has ever seen a therapist is disqualified from owning a gun?” asks Jacobs, who wonders where you could draw the line.
Individuals might avoid seeking help if they’re worried that treatment will end up as an entry in a government database—but so might the family and friends of troubled people who think a loved one needs care, but fear a loss of civil liberties as a result.
Schumer's legislation is not likely to go anywhere. Unfortunately, Obama's regulatory agencies have found a way around Congress, which is why we now find ourselves fighting to protect the rights of veterans and senior citizens whose only problem is they need someone to assist them with their finances.
Federal
agencies that provide customer services to the firearms and ammunition industry
are affected by the shutdown. The FBI's
NICS Section is maintaining normal business hours. On the other
hand, ATF's Office of
Enforcement Programs and Services (EPS), which includes the
imports, firearms technology, NFA branches, the licensing center and firearms
industry programs branch now processing marking variances, is effectively shut
down, operating with minimal staff. The State
Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is
accepting licenses, but only acting on them in genuine emergency situations. The Commerce Department Bureau of
Industry and Security (BIS) is no longer accepting export
license applications, classification requests (CCATS), encryption reviews,
encryption registrations or advisory opinion requests. Similarly, BIS will not
be issuing any final determinations. All pending export license applications,
commodity classification requests, encryption reviews, encryption registrations
and advisory opinion requests will be held without action by BIS until the
shutdown ends. NSSF will continue to update the industry as additional details
on the government shutdown become available.
Last week, NRA-ILA sent an email alert encouraging gun owners to attend one of the town halls that Governor Bob McDonnell is holding around the Commonwealth on the subject of Government Reform. One suggesting for reforming Virginia government and saving taxpayers money would be to scrap the current Virginia Instant Check System for gun purchases and use the National Instant Check System (NICS). In April, I posted about the problem of background checks taking longer and the impact is has had on gun shows. The Richmond Times Dispatch reported at that time the reason according to the State Police:
Officials say it is tied to increased demand for firearms at the same time that budget and funding constraints have reduced the number of staffers available to handle the transactions.
Spokeswoman Corinne Geller said that since May 2009, the agency has lost 11 people from its 28-person staff at the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center, including two federally funded full-time workers who used to attend gun shows and conduct the computerized checks on-site.
NRA believes that the best way to alleviate the problem is not allocate more money to the State Police, but to scrap the state system and have Virginia use the NICS. Such a suggestion is likely the type of government reforms ideas that Governor McDonnell may find appealing.
There are a number of town halls coming up in the next week and gun owners are encouraged to attend and suggest to Governor McDonnell that one efficient reform idea is for Virginia to stop doing its own checks and instead have them go through NICS. If you live near one of the town hall locations, please attend, then let VSSA know the Governor's response by posting a comment on this blog post.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 24 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. 412 Lee Hall at University of Mary Washington 1301 College Avenue in FREDERICKSBURG
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. CIT Auditorium 2214 Rock Hill Road, Suite 300 in HERNDON
THURSDAY, AUGUST 26 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Montpelier Room of East Campus Dining Hall James Madison University in HARRISONBURG
MONDAY, AUGUST 30 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Great Hall of Institute for Advanced Learning and Research 150 Slayton Avenue in DANVILLE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 31 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. J. Henry Kegley Meeting Room in Bristol Public Library 701 Goode Street in BRISTOL
VSSA had the opportunity to discuss this with NRANews.com last week.
Anyone who attended last weekend's Richmond Gun Show will not be surprised that gun sales continued to be brisk in February. The show was packed as it has been since election day.
NSSF reported that data from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) show background checks on the sale of firearms jumped 23.3 percent in February (1,259,078) when compared to February 2008 (1,021,130). The increase follows a 29 percent rise in January, a 24 percent rise in December and a 42 percent jump in November, when a record 1,529,635 background checks were performed.
In related news, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) announced yesterday that firearm retailers may continue to photocopy the Form 4473 -- the federal document required for purchase of a firearm from a licensed retailer -- in its entirety until they receive requested backorders from the Distribution Center.
It would be interesting to see how fast the purchase of firearms in the AR platform increased the last few days of February following Attorney General Eric Holder making it clear on February 25th that the administration wants to reinstate and expand the ban on semi-auto firearms.
In an effort to provide you with the most up-to-date information to help address any confusion or misrepresentation over H.R. 2640, the "NICS Improvement Amendments Act," NRA-ILA has provided the below helpful links to NRA-ILA fact sheets and recent articles written to further clarify the legislation.
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