Mike Levin: “last weekend, a new report was released by the Justice Department about the successes of the Brady Law. The Brady Law…”

“last weekend, a new report was released by the Justice Department about the successes of the Brady Law. The Brady Law requires that a prospective gun purchaser undergo a criminal background check before obtaining any firearm from a federal firearms licensee. The law is intended to prevent felons, fugitives, domestic abusers, and other prohibited persons from gaining access to guns. The new information brought the number of purchase rejections up to more than half a million since enactment of the Brady Law in 1994. According to the report, the number one reason for rejection was because the applicant either had a felony conviction or was under felony indictment. Of the approximately 200,000 purchase rejections in 1999, almost three-quarters, or 150,000 were denied for this reason. The second most common cause for rejection was a domestic violence misdemeanor conviction or restraining order, accounting for approximately 13% of rejections or 27,000 applications. Other applicants were denied the ability to purchase guns because of fugitive status, mental illness or disability, drug addiction, or state or local prohibition. In total, in 1999 alone, the Brady Law kept more than 200,000 guns off the streets and out of the hands of prohibited purchasers. The Brady Act has been effective but its success has been undermined by a loophole in the law that allows criminals to purchase guns from non-licensed sellers.”