FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AG
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1998
(202) 514-2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888
STATEMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
"One of the Administration's top priorities has been our effort to fight violence by keeping guns out of the wrong hands.
"Since President Clinton signed the Brady Law in 1993, background checks have prevented almost a quarter of a million over-the-counter gun sales to felons, fugitives, persons under domestic violence restraining orders and others prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.
"This morning, we are taking another step. Today, a new regulation will officially certify that the FBI's National Instant Check System, or NICS, as we call it, will be up and running on November 30, 1998 - the deadline set by law.
"NICS is a computerized network designed to access criminal histories and other records to ensure that prospective purchasers are not prohibited from buying handguns, rifles and shotguns.
"NICS will be ready because of a partnership between the federal and state governments. We have provided more than $200 million to assist state governments in improving their criminal history records. This is important in that if someone is arrested and we don't have the criminal history immediately available or complete, it may involve a dangerous offender going free.
"Under the National Instant Check System, a prospective gun buyer will fill out a form right there in the gun shop. The dealer will then place a phone call, and an instant check will be run on the computerized network. When records are unclear and follow-up inquiries are required, the law provides that we can delay a transfer for up to three days. In the vast majority of cases, however, the sale will be approved or denied within minutes.
"As part of our partnership with the states, as of today, 27 states have agreed to conduct at least some of the Brady Law's background checks under NICS. These states have made, I think, an excellent choice. When states perform the checks, they have access to more state records than the FBI, and are more familiar with their own records and state statutes that may also prohibit gun sales. For example, many restraining orders and mental health records are kept locally and will not be accessible to the FBI. At the request of Congress, we are developing new proposals to encourage even more states to conduct the Brady Law's checks.
"In states that have not agreed to conduct the NICS checks, the FBI will check criminal history and other records using the National Instant Check System.
"Creating a national instant check system has been a great challenge. Although it has not been easy, we are on schedule. The full benefits of the National Instant Check System will not be felt until federal and state criminal history records are complete. But NICS is going to be making a difference on Day One, and will help protect Americans from gun violence.
"This milestone is just one more step forward in a larger quest: to effectively confront the culture of violence in this country. We need to work together, as police and prosecutors, as citizens and shopkeepers, to keep guns out of the wrong hands while minimizing the burdens on law-abiding gun buyers. The National Instant Check System will help us achieve this goal."
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