In 1993, with the passage of the Brady Law, Congress enacted a dual standard for gun purchases -- one for licensed gun stores and a separate standard for unlicensed sellers. The practical impact: Sales at gun stores require background checks (BC); sales at gun shows by unlicensed sellers do not. In 1999, Congress debated legislation to require criminal BC at gun shows. But scant info. was known about how often criminals obtained guns from gun shows. During the debate, legislators could only guess how long most BC took to complete under the Nat. Instant Check System, and even some basic questions such as whether BC would put gun shows out of bus. were debated with little info. This report seeks to answer those questions. Illustrations.
Politics & current events