Saturday, July 11, 2015

So, maybe we should "background check" him again?

FBI director: "Heartbreaking" mistake allowed Dylann Roof to buy gun

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A few executive orders ought to correct any problems.

Anonymous said...

The incompetent bastards could at least do the honorable thing & resign.

Anonymous said...

Deportation worked for the guy in S. F. Five or six times I believe.

Anonymous said...

Sadly their is no honor among thieving, lying, fill my pockets, government officials. On any local ,state nor federal level.

j said...

but... but I thought the Confederate Battle Flag, the Dukes of Hazzard and the body of Nathaniel Bedford Forrest made him do it? I'm so confused about it all!

Ed said...

I was recently in a pawn shop that sells firearms, used and new. There was a sign on the counter stating that there would be a $75 charge for those who receive a negative background check. When I questioned the man behind the counter about the appropriateness of that charge when contestable rejections occur and the purchase had not yet occurred, he told me that some customers pay the background check fee without completing a purchase just to discover whether they were a prohibited person in the system. Why would this be? Some of his customers knew that they should be on a prohibited person list, but there was a good chance that the information had not been updated. They also knew that there was little chance of prosecution for incorrect information on a BATFE From 4473.

The NICS system is only as good as the data available to it. A three day wait for a response is sufficient if there is sufficient valid data to make a valid decision. If there is insufficient data or incorrect data, then you can wait until hell freezes over and it will not make a difference.

The solution is to have a widely available, quickly accessible list of individuals prohibited from purchasing firearms that gives the reason(s) for the prohibition. Reward those who update the system with current, valid information and the information will be updated in a timely manner. There is currently no incentive for those who should update the information other than what is perceived to be the nebulous "greater benefit of civilized society".

The bottom line, however, is that no system will be 100% valid and reliable. No system can predict whether the purchaser of the firearm will commit a crime either related or unrelated to the firearm. Criminals do not use FFL dealers and correctly fill out a BATFE Form 4473 when acquiring firearms. We are wasting the people's time and money going through the motions of providing the illusion of greater safety. If someone uses a firearm in a crime, then arrest the person, try them, convict them and incarcerate them, but understand that you cannot prevent anyone from committing a crime. At best, we can only slightly reduce the chances of them committing a crime. Otherwise, remove all restrictions on firearms possession as they are illusionary and useless. Encourage possession and skillful use of firearms by all without government license or permit. If the resources currently allocated to firearms law enforcement were instead reallocated to firearms eduction, then we would be safer.