New Actions by the Federal Government
Keeping Guns Out of the Wrong Hands Through Background Checks
1. Clarify that it doesn’t matter where you conduct your business—from a store, at gun shows, or over the Internet: If you’re in the business of selling firearms, you must get a license and conduct background checks.
Today, the Administration took action to ensure that anyone who is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms is licensed and conducts background checks on their customers.
2. Require background checks for people trying to buy some of the most dangerous weapons and other items through a trust or corporation.
ATF is finalizing a rule that makes clear that people will no longer be able to avoid background checks by buying NFA guns and other items through a trust or corporation.
3. Ensure States are providing records to the background check system, and work cooperatively with jurisdictions to improve reporting.
...the Attorney General has written a letter to States highlighting the importance of receiving complete criminal history records and criminal dispositions, information on persons disqualified for mental health reasons, and qualifying crimes of domestic violence.
4. Make the background check system more efficient and effective.
- FBI will hire more than 230 additional NICS examiners and other staff members to assist with processing mandatory background checks.
- FBI has partnered with the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) to modernize NICS...The improvements envisioned by FBI and USDS include processing background checks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to improve overall response time and improving notification of local authorities when certain prohibited persons unlawfully attempt to purchase a firearm.
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Making Our Communities Safer from Gun Violence
1. Ensure smart and effective enforcement of our gun laws.
- The President’s budget for FY2017 will include funding for 200 new ATF agents and investigators who can help enforce our gun laws, including the measures announced today.
- ATF is dedicating $4 million and additional personnel to enhance the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN).
- ATF has established an Internet Investigations Center (IIC) staffed with federal agents, legal counsel, and investigators to track illegal online firearms trafficking and to provide actionable intelligence to agents in the field.
2. Ensure that dealers notify law enforcement about the theft or loss of their guns.
Today, ATF issued a final rule clarifying that the licensee shipping a gun is responsible for notifying law enforcement upon discovery that it was lost or stolen in transit.
3. Issue a memo directing every U.S. Attorney’s Office to renew domestic violence outreach efforts.
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Increase Mental Health Treatment and Reporting to the Background Check System
1. Dedicate significant new resources to increase access to mental health care.
- ...the Administration is proposing a new $500 million investment to help engage individuals with serious mental illness in care, improve access to care by increasing service capacity and the behavioral health workforce, and ensure that behavioral health care systems work for everyone.
2. Include information from the Social Security Administration in the background check system about beneficiaries who are prohibited from possessing a firearm.
- The Social Security Administration (SSA) has indicated that it will begin the rulemaking process to ensure that appropriate information in its records is reported to NICS.
3. Remove unnecessary legal barriers preventing States from reporting relevant information to the background check system.
- Today, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a final rule expressly permitting certain HIPAA covered entities to provide to the NICS limited demographic and other necessary information about these individuals
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Shaping the Future of Gun Safety Technology
1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security to take two important steps to promote smart gun technology.
- Increase research and development efforts.
- Promote the use and acquisition of new technology.
These actions all sound incredibly sensible and certainly not an infringement on the 2nd Amendment. The only way to argue against these common sense regulations is by lying about them. And Republicans are already hard at it.