Americans for Gun Safety recently released a report claiming that as many as 10,000 felons were allowed to buy guns because of inadequate systems to conduct background checks. But, not surprisingly, this claim relies on a sleight of hand.
In Kansas, for example, Americans for Gun Safety claimed that 375 people who were either felons or otherwise disqualified from buying guns were nonetheless able to buy a weapon because the background check took longer than the required three days. But as The Wichita Eagle pointed out, this simply is not true.
The figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms statistics on the number of background checks that took more than three days. But as a BATF official told The Witchita Eagle, just because a background check takes more than three days does not mean that the person trying to buy a gun was a felon, nor does it mean that the person in question was actually able to buy a weapon.
ATF spokesman Larry Scott told the Eagle, “We check all those out. And in a great many cases, it turns out the person shouldn’t have been blocked anyway. They may just have had the same name (as someone with a criminal record).”
In fact, if the report eventually comes back that the person indeed had a felony, the BATF will dispatch agents to seize the gun.
If his academic career should end prematurely, maybe Michael Bellisles could go to work for these folks at Americans for Gun Safety.
Source:
Officials dispute that felons buy guns. Ron Sylvester, The Wichita Eagle, January 17, 2002.