If you didn’t watch closely, you may have missed it. Fix NICS has been under review for several months. In that time, it has seen countless revisions, and it no longer resembles the bill we originally saw pass the House last year. It was packed into the omnibus spending bill, so most Americans don’t even know that the federal gun law has already undergone significant changes this year.
We’re used to Congress getting everything wrong, so in the interest of fairness, we’ll admit that the bill isn’t a complete failure. Still, the bad outweighs the good. Let’s break it down so you can see what Congress really thinks of your right to keep and bear arms.
Communication
By and large, the major changes in the Fix NICS bill are aimed at improving communication and efficiency in the background check system. The bill has several provisions that both require and incentivize various agencies to update their submissions to the FBI list on a more frequent basis.
All federal law enforcement agencies now have a mandate to provide updates at least twice a year. State and local authorities are under the same new requirements.
The bulk of the Fix NICS bill is dedicated to outlining funding procedures that give teeth to these requirements. The goal is to make it harder for infractions to slip through the cracks, and out of the entire bill, this is the only section that could actually prevent crimes like the Sutherland Springs shooting.
If we’re going to argue that any portion of this bill is more good than bad, it would have to be this mandate. Unfortunately, it’s paired with a huge deficit increase that we can all agree was signed recklessly.
Updated Criteria
Now, we’re moving into the gray areas. The first change in NICS criteria is that any felony conviction that had at least a one-year sentence will now bar people from gun ownership. You can see why people have mixed reactions to this. Some argue that any felony crime is sufficient to forfeit your basic rights. Others contend that only violent convictions are serious enough to sacrifice the 2nd Amendment. You can decide for yourself how you feel.
In that same vein, there is a change to what qualifies as mentally incompetent for firearm ownership. Under the new law, anyone with court-ordered psychiatric care can no longer purchase guns. It simplifies the law, but there is no question that innocent Americans will be caught in this new trap. It’s an overreach. Unfortunately, it’s dwarfed by other components of the bill.
The new definitions for mental fitness have a large negative. Simply put, it’s an attack on veterans. You may have heard that some courts have contended that any veteran who needs help managing their benefits is unfit to own a gun. Fix NICS standardizes this, so large numbers of veterans could lose their gun rights. The bill doesn’t mandate retroactive confiscation, but it does give courts power to punish veterans for the sole crime of serving their country.
Missing
There are also some important things missing from the final version of the bill. You might remember that back in December, Fix NICS had a lot of Republican support. At the time, one of the biggest changes in the bill included concealed carry reciprocity. It would have forced every state in the union to honor the concealed carry licenses of all other states.
Now, this didn’t standardize concealed carry permission. It just protected Americans who were crossing state lines from being ensnared in legal differences they didn’t happen to know.
Some early versions of Fix NICS included attempts for universal reciprocity. Unfortunately, Congress abandoned the will of the people and removed these provisions before the bill was passed. It will likely be a long time before any reciprocity submissions have serious traction again.
When you total the score, this is obvious a loss for the 2nd Amendment and America. Finding a way to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the NICS database is perfectly fine. Sneaking in all of these attacks on the rights of everyday citizens is not.
It’s too late to complain to your Senator or Representative about the details of this bill. The next step is to speak with a strong vote and elect politicians who will adopt our priorities. Without a huge win in November, we won’t see any significant support for the 2nd Amendment for a long time, and by then, it very well could be too late.
~ American Gun News
Support 2 nd amendment rights. God bless America
Some how we need to find out all those traitors that turn against the Constitution and find a list of all of them who turned on us. If we can’t protect ourselves and our families with a firearm then those traitors shouldn’t be able to either. I am sick and tired of when ever their is a shooting right away they want to disarm the law abiding citizens when we didn’t do it. What they don’t realize is the law abiding citizens would protect them too. But what really angers me is the way they treat our veterans who fought for our country and then get demonized for fighting for our country. I love this country and the people who made it great but not those who are trying to destroy our way of life. God Bless America!
There is one really onerous factor here that further undermines the Constitution and Bill of Rights. If any ONE constitutionally protected liberty can be chipped away piece by piece so can and so will all others. America has slipped into a Post-Constitutional era of her history.
No, the first thing to do is deluge the White House with mailings, asking President Trump to veto this bill until it is rewritten to reflect the will of the people and protect 2A rights.
Get American Gun News to post the FAX numbers for the White House and mailing names and addresses of individuals with real influence to the President as well as a direct address to the President. Mail to the White House with out the necessary Force de Shure will end up in the trash can.
FIX NICS SHOULD BE BASED ON THE TYPE OF CRIME THAT WAS COMMITTED NOT HOW LONG YOU SERVED.
Robert, you’re right. While I’m not a fan of the NICS Bill as written, I have some questions about the author’s analysis.
First, why does the author “claim” that those of us who served our country are criminals? Isn’t that the gist of his statement that, “The bill doesn’t mandate retroactive confiscation, but it does give courts power to punish veterans for the sole crime of serving their country?” I “accuse” the author somewhat in jest as the bill in no way puts limitations on veterans. Where does it say that veterans who are judged say incapable of handling their financials affairs can be stripped of their rights? Again, wouldn’t a court have to adjudicate that the veteran was a violent threat to himself or others for such rights to be lost?
Secondly, what danger is presented by not allowing those who’ve been ordered by a court with due process protections to undergo psychiatric treatment for mental illness to lose their 2nd Amendment rights? Does the law include all mental illnesses or would such illnesses as kleptomania also be a cause? Does the law make distinction about certain types of psychosis as only certain types are indicators of possible violent tendencies? Are courts allowed to make that distinction?
I believe those implications by the author are in error.
I’m an engineer and financial affairs and I typically stay in our own corners, occasionally growling. How can some trouble with finances be held against a veteran, especially if there’s a lot of government paperwork to deal with? I mean, if the vet has to hire an accountant to keep some things straight, or do his taxes for him, is that going to get him a black mark on the 4473? Some people are better at that than others, after all.
The removal of the Universal Reciprocity bill from the Fix NCIS Omnibus bill prior to passage is absolute negligence on the part of congress and President Trump. They had the opportunity to at least fix the problem affecting All we law abiding perfectly safe firearms owners and transporters have faced for so long and they blew that opportunity. They should be ashamed of themselves. President Trump’s lackluster support for our Costitutions 2nd Amendmnt is sad and troubling. I hope he perks up his support for the he constitution soon.
“Fixing” the NCIS will do very little toward stopping mass shootings! If someone has decided to kill as many inocent peiple as possiblee will only be inconvenienced by inabilikty to purchase a gun legally. Like the Sandy Hook shooter, he will steal one or more. In case you haven’t noticed, there is already a law against killing inocent people. We need treatment and, in some cases, enforced hospitalization for the mentally ill. I am not suggesting that we bring back the 19th Century horror house insane asilums, but we have closed far too many mental hospitals.
WE HAVE BEEN INFILTRATED WITH TRAITOR’S IN OUR REPRESENTATIVE BODIE!!
William, what’is the definition of treason and where is it found in US law? How would it apply to this bill? Is advocating for the repealing of the 2nd Amendment treason? Also, why have the 2nd Amendment at all?
In answer to my last question please remember Justice Joseph Story’s comment about the 2nd Amendment. He was appointed to the SCOTUS by Pres. Madison, the principle author of the Constitution. Justice Story wisely wrote, “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of the republic; since it offers a strong moral check against usurpation and arbitrary power of the rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them.” In my words, without the 2nd Amendment, how can we protect the other nine Amendments against a tyrannical government?
By the way, I do believe several amendments should be repealed, including the 16th and 17th Amendments, thus getting rid of the Federal Reserve and giving back the States representation in Congress as the Framers intended.
To RECCE1,
The definition of the word “traitor” can be found in any dictionary. As far as Congress is concerned, the word “traitor” can be applied to any member who broke his/her oath of office – to “Preserve, Protect and Defend the Constitution” AS IT WAS WRITTEN or verbally attacked or voted for any legislation that lessened our rights under the Constitution. We have come to know these congress critters as “oath breakers”, and I do not trust any who have attacked any of the Amendments in the Bill of Rights, especially those in my home state.
As far as your other assertions in your post, I agree completely. I also wish for another Amendment: Term limits on
Congress not to exceed six years. That way Congressmen will not get so firmly entrenched so as to only prepare for their next re-election and ignore their Constituents while skimming off the lobbyists and taxpayer monies.
This shouldn’t surprise us. The left have to sneak things in any way they can. They know this is the only way, that they can get anything over on 2nd Amendment supporters. That’s how they operate, illegal, sneaky schemes, or behind closed doors, or pay people to be on their side, or let illegals in the country for votes. Why do we put up with such schemes. This election, show the dems. We’re not putting up with any more games with the laws of our land. We support the Constitution, that is the rule of law. It has made this country great and Doesn’t need changed to benefit a certain party. That’s why our forefathers came here. The Constitution is for all people, making us all equal. But people must follow our laws and come here legally, according to federal laws. Please speak up with your vote this election.
Anything that is not part of the original bill should not be allowed to become part of the bill.
And this is why we have to make sure democrats don’t take over both houses—-VOTE THEM OUT , MAKE YOUR VOTE BE HEARD LOUDLY
The removal of the Universal Reciprocity bill from this is ridiculous. Going from state to state with a legal firearms carry permit should be automatic. It just shows us how sneaky and low down the politicians are.
Protect our second amendment and America, do your homework before you vote!
I’m really disappointed yet once again by our Congress, and this time by President Trump. POTUS, in his platform promised to protect & defend 2A as a primary concern.
I guess he forgot about 2A, his promise, he also completely overlooked rotten Obama’s
Sneaky, slithery, unlawful 2A attack on veterans. Rotten Obama also started doing the same unlawful 2A repeal of indiv. Rights without ANY due process or appeal. Reciprocity? Yeah, POTUS agreed that was needed and a great idea. But he forgot it.
Congress? GOP has the presidency, House & Senate. And STILL they cannot get a single thing done right. If they can’t show they are holding top dog status, and all they can do is roll over on their backs and pee on themselves, anytime libnut demanding communist Dems tell the GOP what to do,
they have NO business holding employment as members of Congress or Senate.
Or, POTUS, for that matter. This Fix NICS is actually a failure, because it strips away 2A
protections. Anything hurting 2A and our rights is failure. Congress ignored, Senate ignored and POTUS ignored “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.” Why? THEY were busy taking care to protect their own priorities, pork and special interests. But, not US, WE THE PEOPLE. We, American citizens need to be your only special interest. Your only priority.
YOU failed us. Now go fix this awful, unlawful piece of liberal trash.