kone@COURIER1.SHA.CORNELL.EDU 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, pmfitzge@ingr.com ______ / ___ ) [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