Jim Miller asked about the "Brady Bill" instant check system. In the House version no deadline is set for the nation wide system. As for fingerprints, it is one of the ways the bill authorizes to check back grounds. My over payed earrend boy, Congressman Hinchy, got a copy of the bill for me and two of my Cornell pre-law friends looked it over. We still don't know what they want in the end. (not counting the total ban.) The bill did refer to an "individual number" a lot. It is not clear if the "individual number" is your SS number or the serial number of the weapon. 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 or someone keeping track on what I buy or don't buy. I have been trying to keep my life out of as many records as possable, and am a bit worried by the vage instant check program. (is visiting a srink for depresion a sign of mental instablity?) Ther 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.e. the sellor types in your number (public key) and the confuser says OK or NOT OK. You type in your private key and see your arest record and such. One final item, I do agree that weapon ownership is not the issue we should talk to, but how can we protect our privacy yet keep "rights-violators" from open access to weapons. William Kone "I have trained over a thousand young men to eat, sleep, and shoot with their weapon. But, I still get worried the first time I give them the rifels."