On August 5, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced legislation that encourages states to more readily submit information on people with mental health problems to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
On July 27 The Seattle Times ran a column highlighting so-called flaws and loopholes in the National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS) system for gun purchases and suggested the system will not work correctly as long gun sales by a “private party” are allowed.
On June 10, USA Today quoted FBI director James Comey saying an FBI “mistake” allowed Dylann Roof to pass a background check for the .45 caliber handgun he allegedly used to attack innocents at Charleston’s Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The New York Times excused this “mistake,” positing instead that Roof passed the background check because of a system “flaw.”
