On January 8, 2008, the President signed the National Instant Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act of 2007. The NICS system was first implemented in 1998, as required by the Brady Law.

Position: The Brady Campaign supports strengthening the Brady background check system. Therefore, we supported passage of the NICS Improvement Act of 2007. This legislation was passed in response to the Virginia Tech massacre. The shooter was able to arm himself because the court order that should have blocked his gun purchase was not reported to the national Brady background check system.

The Problem: Many states fail to supply thousands of records of prohibited gun buyers to the national Brady background check system. That means felons, domestic violence abusers, and those who are dangerously mentally ill can walk into a gun store and buy weapons without being stopped.

The Threat: Allowing dangerous people to purchase guns at gun stores threatens the safety of our families and communities.

The NICS Improvement Act Helps Fix the Records Gap Problem: The NICS Improvement Act will help encourage states to provide records of prohibited persons to NICS, and will require federal agencies to do so. The Act assists states by supplying grants and imposing financial penalties for failure to supply records.

Conclusion: The NICS Improvement Act is a major step forward in ensuring that records of dangerous people who are already prohibited from buying guns get into the Brady background check system. It will prevent more dangerous people from getting guns and help prevent gun violence.