I voted no on the Thompson of CA Amendment to #HR4660, which transfers $19.5 million from various accounts in the bill to a grant program related to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The grant program provides funding to state governments to increase their submissions to the NICS database (e.g., mental health and arrest records). The sponsor of the amendment cites statistics on the number of arrest warrants that have not been entered into NICS by certain states, but my primary concern is on the opposite end. An arrest warrant is not a conviction and is not sufficient to deny a law-abiding citizen the right to purchase or possess a firearm. In a recent study from the Government Accountability Office, three out of six states in the study had trouble matching arrest records to their corresponding dispositions (i.e., final outcomes). A person arrested but whose charge is later dismissed should not be prevented from purchasing a weapon, and there are too many problems with NICS right now to make it a reliable check for past criminal behavior or mental fitness. Furthermore, the underlying bill already funds these NICS grants at $3.5 million above the presidents budget request. The amendment was agreed to 260-145-1.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 04:32:00 +0000
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