The Senate has reached a bipartisan agreement on legislation that would strengthen background checks by offering states incentives to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Before the agreement was reached, NBC News described the legislation as, “According to a description of the bill obtained by NBC News, the “Fix NICS Act†offers a handful of solutions to help get all the necessary records uploaded, including asking federal agencies and states to produce plans to upload and verify the criminal and mental health records necessary to bar unfit purchasers from buying a weapon. The bill would also create incentives like grants for states that comply with the uploading requirements, and accountability measures like withholding political appointees bonuses for agencies that fail to do so.”
Here is the tweet on the agreement:
SCOOP: A deal on gun legislation has been reached to strengthen background checks per sources. Cornyn/Murphy/Scott/Blumenthal signed on. With @GarrettHaake and @frankthorp https://t.co/HFy34lSxCg pic.twitter.com/u80ensLGzD
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— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) November 16, 2017
This bill is common sense and does not infringe on the Second Amendment rights of any American. One of the major problem that was visible that was brought to the forefront after the deadliest church shooting in US history recently occurred in Texas is that a background check system is useless if the information has not been uploaded to the system. A background check system that contains all the needed information will stop mass shooters from legally purchasing firearms.
The support for strengthened background checks is nearly universal in the United States. The American people have been calling for strengthening background checks since the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012.
The fix of the background check system won’t stop all mass shootings, but it is a good common sense step, that will be a success if it prevents one person who shouldn’t be allowed to purchase weapons from buying a gun.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
