Fix NICS Act of 2017, to Strengthen an Individual

NSSF FAST FACTS NSSF’S FIXNICS® CAMPAIGN

Federally licensed retailers are law. After securing FixNICS® reforms (R-Texas). required to run a background check in 16 states to date, the number of In the Senate, Sen. John Cornyn through the FBI’s National Instant disqualifying mental health records (R-Texas) had introduced NSSF- Criminal Background Check System submitted to NICS increased by 270 supported bipartisan S. 2135, the (NICS) when transferring a firearm to percent to about 6.07 million as of Fix NICS Act of 2017, to strengthen an individual. Firearm retailers rely on December 31, 2020, from about 1.7 NICS by requiring federal agencies to NICS to ensure the lawful transfer of million in December 2012. enter all disqualifying records under firearms to law-abiding citizens. Over However, gaps remain in the current law. Sen. Cornyn’s legislation 391 million NICS background checks efforts to ensure all relevant records also allowed a federal grant for states have been conducted from November are submitted to NICS. Several to help upload these records. 30, 1998 through May 31, 2021; about states, and as tragically learned These legislative efforts 19 million have been conducted through recent events, some through May 2021 alone. federal agencies, still are not fully However, a background check participating in submitting records to is only as good as the records in the keep firearms from those prohibited database. That is why the firearm from purchasing them. industry supports improving the current NICS system by increasing NSSF APPLAUDS FEDERAL ACTION the number of prohibiting records A December 2017 report by the states and federal agencies submit to Defense Department’s Inspector the FBI databases, helping to prevent General found that the military illegal transfers of firearms to those services failed to consistently submit who are prohibited from owning records to NICS. The report showed firearms under current law.i Including about 31 percent of records were not these missing records will help submitted as required.iii The firearm ensure more accurate and complete and ammunition industry finds this background checks. unacceptable and has worked to The firearm industry has a long support Congressional FixNICS® record of supporting background efforts to address gaps such as this. culminated in the enactment of the checks.ii The NSSF supported In late 2017, the House of Fix NICS Act in 2018. As part of a background checks prior to the Representatives passed the larger package, former President passage in 1993 of the Brady Act bipartisan H.R. 38, the Concealed Trump signed into law the provisions that created a point of retailer sale Carry Reciprocity Act, with FixNICS® that will help ensure relevant state background check system and NICS legislation combined into the overall and federal agency records are in 1998. bill. The FixNICS® provisions included submitted to the NICS database. Since 2013, NSSF’s FixNICS® in this bill encourage states and NSSF fully supports this law and campaign has been advocating require federal agencies to submit continues to work closely with for changes to state laws and all disqualifying records to the NICS federal agencies and states to regulations that encourage state database. NSSF supported this bill, help remove obstacles to record agencies and courts to fully submit as well as the stand-alone Fix NICS submission. mental health records that show Act of 2017, H.R. 4434, introduced In November 2019, the Justice an individual is prohibited from in the House by then Reps. Henry Department released its first report purchasing a firearm under current Cuellar (D-Texas) and John Culberson on the impact of this significant law.vi continued This report noted that implementation In 2013, the firearm and challenges preventing effective plans were submitted by 45 federal ammunition industry investigated record sharing. agencies, all 50 states, the District how many states were submitting The FixNICS® campaign has won of Columbia and Indian tribal prohibiting mental health and other victories in 16 states. Since FixNICS governments. According to the disqualifying records to NICS. The was launched in 2013 through the report, between April 2018 and industry obtained data from the FBI end of December, 2020, the number August 2019, there was “an increase showing that at the end of 2012, of disqualifying mental health records of over 6 million records in the three far too many states failed to submit submitted to NICS increased by 270 national databases searched with these records that established percent to about 6.14 million, from every NICS check — a 6.2 percent someone is prohibited from owning about 1.7 million in December 2012. increase. In addition, there was a a firearm under current law. At that Now only 2 states have fewer 15 percent increase in records in time, 19 states had made fewer than than 100 prohibiting mental health one of those databases, the NICS 100 records available and 12 of these records in the federal system. Indices.” The report outlines the had made fewer than 10 records implementation plans currently available.v LOOKING AHEAD underway across the U.S., concluding In response, the firearm and NSSF is committed to advocating that, “the Fix NICS Act is well on its ammunition industry launched the for all prohibiting records to be way to doing exactly what it was FixNICS® campaign to address submitted to the FBI’s NICS database. intended to do - make the NICS the problem and improve the The industry depends on background better.” effectiveness of NICS. Through a checks being run against a complete multistate effort focused on forming system. The failure of states or federal NSSF’S STATE CAMPAIGN coalitions in the states with the agencies to submit prohibiting records State participation in the NICS fewest submitted records, the must be addressed to keep firearms system is voluntary as the federal industry has dedicated significant out of the hands of those prohibited government cannot mandate resources to helping states from purchasing under current law. It state participation due to the 10th overcome the legal, technological, is time for lawmakers at all levels to Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.iv and intrastate coordination step forward and FixNICS®.

SM www.f ixnics.org i Note: Fix NICS does not seek to require all mental health records iii Department of Defense, Inspector General, “Evaluation of Fingerprint be submitted to NICS, only those that establish an individual falls Card and Final Disposition Report Submissions by Military Service into one of the current federal categories of persons prohibited from Law Enforcement Organizations,” December 4, 2017, https://media. receiving firearms. defense.gov/2017/Dec/05/2001852278/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2018-035.PDF. The prohibited categories are available here in full: https://www.atf. iv Department of Justice, “The Attorney General’s Semiannual Report gov/firearms/identify-prohibited-persons on the Fix NICS Act,” November 2019, https://www.justice.gov/ag/ page/file/1217396/download ii NSSF press release, “At NICS User Conference, NSSF Supports Virginia Governors Call to Add Mental Health and Other Records to v Printz v. United States - 521 U.S. 898 (1996) Background Check System,” May 2012, http://www.nssf.org/news- vi The National Shooting Sports Foundation obtained data on the num- room/releases/2012/050112.cfm. ber of active adjudicated mental health records in the NICS Index from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.