Op-ed Articles

Holder begins gun-control push

Written by Megan R. Wilson Published: 25 January 2013

The Justice Department is taking the first steps toward carrying out President Obama’s executive actions on gun control. Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday released three proposals to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which was one of the 23 actions ordered by Obama last week to tackle gun violence.

The proposed regulations would give local law-enforcement agencies access to the gun-sale database that is maintained by the FBI. The rules would also preserve records of denied weapons sales indefinitely.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act already requires federal background checks for gun purchases, but not every firearm sale is covered under the law.

Currently, law enforcement agencies cannot perform a NICS check when transferring, returning or selling weapons that have been confiscated, seized or recovered. The new rules would change that, allowing officials to perform a background check on people who receive those weapons to ensure that they are permitted to own a gun.

 

[readon2 url=”http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/pending-regs/279345-holder-begins-gun-control-push”]Read the rest on The Hill[/readon2]