The Brady Act Essay

These people usually go to gun shows to sell firearms and many people refer to this as the gun show loophole. But these vendors don’t always have to go to gun shows, they can use classified ads or the internet to sell firearms without a background check. According to Watkins, “ Experts estimate that over six million guns a year - perhaps 40% of all sales – are made by unlicensed private dealers not subject to the law” (Watkins 5).

The store [selling the guns] then calls the FBI, which runs a background check on the person [trying to obtain a gun] through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, also known as NICS. The background check can

The Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act, in short: The Brady Act, was United States legislation that was passed by Congress in 1993. The Brady Act required a five-day waiting period and criminal background check, performed by state and local law enforcement, for the purchase of a handgun. The Brady Act was instituted to curtail handgun violence and decrease the probability of a handgun ending up in a criminal’s hands. The legislation was heavily pushed by Senator James Brady and his wife, Sarah Brady, after Sen. Brady was seriously injured by a gunshot wound during the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

Laws have been put into place to help insure that guns are only sold to the people that are able to pass back ground checks. “With the 1994 Brady Handgun Violence and Prevention Act, Congress imposed a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases to allow law enforcement officers time to perform criminal background checks of potential buyers” (Front Line). This does not mean that guns do not fall into the hands of children and adults who are not lawfully registered to own them. There are guns shows that are held in almost any U.S. town at any given time, most of the dealers follow protocol but some do not. Pawn shops also buy and sell guns on a daily basis; most of these guys are just out to make a quick sell. They have no idea if the gun that they are buying was just used in a crime or not.

in full swing in Congress about three years ago, I was still back in my country,

When the state of Virginia enacted its one-gun-a-month law, specifically targeted at reducing the amount of gun trafficking, there was a significant drop in the number of out of state crime guns traced back to Virginia dealers. In twelve states where child access prevention laws were put in place and in effect for over a year, unintentional firearm deaths fell by 23 percent among children under the age of 15. Following Maryland’s adoption of a ban on “gun junk” firearm homicides dropped by 8.6 percent, a total of 40 lives saved. Finally, after the passage of the Brady Law in 1994, which required background checks to be issued prior to purchasing a firearm, aggravated assaults with a weapon dropped by 35 percent and a total of five hundred thousand people with a criminal record were legally prevented from obtaining a gun (Gun Control, 2013). According to gun control proponents, these few examples are more than enough evidence to show that sensible gun laws can and do work and that if more laws like them were put in place the results would be astonishing. In addition to sensible gun laws being put in place, gun control proponents strongly believe that closing loopholes is a key component that can reduce crime and make society safer. Gun control proponents like to point out that although some gun regulations are

The problem with statements like the above is that people are forgetting about the black market. If a person is planning on buying a handgun for criminal purposes, he is not likely to buy it through a dealer. If he buys a gun through a dealer, the gun has to be registered in that person’s name. If the gun is used in any crime or murder where a shot is fired and the gun is left behind, the police could very easily trace the gun to that person.

Committed with a fire arm dropped in 1994 - - the same year that the Brady Law went into effect. This decline ended the steady increase in gun violence from 1985 to 1993. The

To help apply restrictions, the Gun Control Act of 1968, which was the first gun law, was passed in the wake of the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy earlier that year (“Restricting” par. 4). The 1968 Gun Control Act established categories of prohibited gun purchasers and possessors, including convicted felons, fugitives from justice, minors, individuals with a history of

Furthermore, Federal Firearms Act of 1938 brought about congress directing a law involving the selling and shipping of firearms within interstate or foreign retail networks. Nonetheless, after the assassination of President Kennedy the 1968 Gun Control Act was enacted, which tightens legislation on the sales of mail order guns. Moreover, beginning in 1972 was the establishment of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Facilitating restrictions on gun sellers and the selling of some guns, was the 1986 Firearms Owners ' Protection Act. Eventually, establishing a policy for drug-free school zones was the 1990 Crime Control Act, which was inclusive on criminal penalization for possessing or discharging a firearm in a school zone. Next, implementing a five-day waiting period and background check, 1993 brought about the Brady Bill, which was modified in 1998 to sanction checks to be performed over the phone or electronically with the findings returned instantly in the majority of circumstances. Commonly discussed as the Assault Weapons Ban starting in 1994 was the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Consequently, Colorado voters recall pro-gun control state senators, Democrats John Morse and Angela Giron for their sponsorship of freshly enacted gun-control laws that require background checks on private gun sales and limit magazine clips of 15 rounds, what a reaction from the people tired of the establishment stepping on their

The purpose of the Brady Campaign is to prevent the act of firearm or gun violence. The founder, Dr. Mark Borinsky, had been robbed and held at gunpoint himself. Though Jim Brady, who was Ronald Reagan's Press Secretary, was shot during the assassination of Reagan. Jim Brady was shot in the head which partially paralyzed him for the rest of his life. The interest group was initially called the "National Counsel to Control Handguns" which Brady and his wife joined to fight gun laws. In 2001 the organization was renamed in honor of Jim Brady and all the hard work and love he put into the prevention of gun violence.

Although the Second Amendment prevents the federal government from completely banning guns in America, limited restrictions are allowed on the distribution and possession of firearms. Certain groups of people such as criminals, the mentally unstable, and soldiers dishonorably discharged from the military are prohibited from possessing or interacting with firearms (Flynn). These restrictions are enforced by background checks in some states on both a state and federal level. However, gun laws vary from state to state and are often not thorough enough; the background checks are flawed due to lack of information and misinformation, and guns can easily end up in the hands of criminals and malevolent individuals. The ease of

Background checks are another way to control the flow of guns in the United States. Background check can be harmful or helpful. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 mandates such checks. In November 1998, the FBI unveiled the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Using this electronic system, federally licensed gun dealers can perform and instant background check on anyone trying to purchase a firearm. The dealer completes a document called a Firearms Transaction Record. It includes Information about the buyer and the gun. The dealer submits this document to NICS, which informs the dealer of the buyer’s status within minutes. Since NICS began, it has stopped more than seven hundred thousand gun

check the qualifications of the buyer. This way, law-abiding citizens can own a gun for hunting

To coincide with prior restrictions of gun control the Brady Bill, which was passed in 1993, required all background checks on gun buyers (Schwartz).  According to Schwartz, such states as California and New Jersey have been creating stricter laws.  California had manufacturers stamp every gun with an individual code; therefore, if a specific gun was questioned in a crime, they would be able to trace it back to the owner.  New Jersey, not taking as extreme measures as California, enforced penalties for illegal gun possession as well.