Two of President Obama’s original 23 Executive Orders and two of his subsequent Executive Orders on gun control dealt with improving information flow to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS)(I don’t know why they leave the “B” out of the abbreviation, but they do).
It’s been three years since his original Executive Orders were issued. What has been done by the Obama Administration to improve the flow of information to the NICS system? As best I can tell from a lot of internet searching, other than a few inter-agency memos, nothing has been done.
Let’s look at the civilian or private sector side of this same issue. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) launched their Fix-NICS initiative in 2013 about the same time as Obama issued his executive orders. The NSSF initiative strived to encourage States to report all appropriate adjudicated mental health and criminal records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. They have succeeded in getting legislation passed in 16 states to improve the flow of information to NICS. And at no cost to taxpayers.
So that would be NSSF – 16, Obama – 0.
As usual, Obama made a big speech, flailed his arms and pointed fingers, but has done nothing to actually fix a problem
But the private sector is actually working to solve a problem that the Administration just gave lip service to.
If the supporters of universal background checks put their efforts and energy into improving information flow to NICS, they might actually make a difference. Don’t they realize forcing the same incomplete reporting system on every weapon transfer doesn’t make sense? But it does make sense to fix the reporting system first.
Improved information flow to NICS may have prevented the South Carolina Church shooting. Doing a background check when I sell a gun to my neighbor of 12 years or when I buy a gun from an Army buddy I’ve known since Basic Training is a waste of time and money.
Additional Reading:
Obama’s gun actions need more details
Mental Health Records Submitted to NICS by State (Note: There are four States that have submitted less than five mental health records to the NICS)
Why the Firearms Industry Opposes Universal Background Checks