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Re: Instant check system
[email protected] writes:
>
> Jim Miller asked about the "Brady Bill" instant check system. In
> the House version no deadline is set for the nation wide system.
An amendment was passed before voting that sunsets the Brady Bill to
five years. So, effectively, there is a five-year deadline in the
House version. This ignores the fact that the Feds have admitted that
they cannot *force* states to perform the instant check. The Brady
Bill only *suggests* that states implement an instant check.
> I personly like the idea of instant check, if my privacy can be
> preserved. The last thing I want is either a convicted
> "rights-violator" with a weapon [...]
Instant check will initially have some effect on criminals getting
guns, but certainly won't stop them. From memory, I think the FBI
estimates that over 80% of criminals get their guns from places other
than gun shops (for example, from theft, private sale). And as the
instant check is implemented, I imagine that the black market will
grow further. But this doesn't belong on cypherpunks, so I'll shut
up.
> There should be a way for individuals to check on their own record,
> as often as they want, yet not alowing for others to check. [...]
I agree, this is important. In the Virginia instant-check system,
which is a de-facto registration (since they also have a stupid
"one gun a month" law), you cannot check your status unless you
actually try to buy a gun.
Recently, a law-abiding citizen mistakenly tried to purchase a gun
after only 28 days. He failed the instant check. After a couple
weeks, troopers showed up at his house and tried to arrest him. Seems
that he had "made a false statement" on his paperwork, which is a
felony. Luckily, he did some fast talking and they later decided to
drop all charges.
This whole business make me sick.
--
Patrick M. Fitzgerald, [email protected] ______
/ ___ )
[The United States] can't be so fixed on our / __)/ /__
desire to preserve the rights of ordinary (_/it(_____)
Americans ... - President William Clinton,
March 1, 1993, during a press conference in Piscataway, NJ, as
reported by "The Boston Globe", 3/2/93, pg 3