Jim Sensenbrenner: “I was the principal Republican author of the Brady Act, which was signed into law in 1994. While much of the debate on…”

“I was the principal Republican author of the Brady Act, which was signed into law in 1994. While much of the debate on the Brady Act was on the 5-day waiting period that was contained in there, the lasting good of the Brady Act was the establishment of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, wherein people who are statutorily ineligible from possessing any type of firearm, such as a convicted felon or an adjudicated mental incompetent, could be identified instantly and a proposed firearm sale could be denied to that individual. This part of the Brady Act is intended to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who are prohibited by Federal or State law from possessing them. The NICS system was established by the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of the Brady Act. The mission of NICS is to ensure the timely sale of firearms to individuals who can legally possess them and to deny their sale to individuals who are prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm. But background checks can only be as effective as the records that are available to be checked, and most crimes of violence are prosecuted under State and local law rather than Federal law.”