Steven Mace
01-21-2002, 12:49 PM
Minnesota gun-check system is faulted
Rob Hotakainen
Star Tribune
Published Jan 17 2002
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- At least 199 illegal gun buyers in Minnesota passed background checks and got weapons during a 30-month period because the state failed to adequately automate its felony records, a national gun-safety group said Wednesday.
Nationally, 9,976 felons and others who should have been prohibited from buying guns passed the checks during the 30-month period that ended in June, the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation said in a report released in Washington, D.C.
"The dirty little secret is that our records for Minnesota and almost every state are in terrible shape, and our front-line defense necessary to keep guns out of the hands of criminals is full of holes," said Jim Kessler, the foundation's policy director. The nonpartisan group says it advocates the need for "better laws and stronger enforcement of existing laws to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children."
The report, which included a review of U.S. Justice Department records and state sources, gave failing grades to 22 states; Minnesota received a C.
Between December 1998 and June 2001, the 199 buyers in Minnesota got their guns because only 76 percent of the state's felony records had been automated, the report said. It urged Minnesota to "dramatically improve and automate" its records.
"That's what we're doing," said Kevin Smith, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
State officials said a new computerized system called CriMNet will make it easier for law-enforcement agencies to track and share information about criminals. It's expected to be fully operating by 2005.
The highest grade went to North Carolina, which received a B+. North Carolina had automated 94 percent of its records, the highest rate in the nation, the study found.
"Minnesota got a C, which I think is pretty good, considering nobody got any A's," said Michael Campion, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He said the 199 cases represent just a fraction of the 50,000 people who sought to buy guns in Minnesota during the 30-month period.
Campion defended the state's system, saying it's "working as well as it possibly can." He described the state's records as accurate but incomplete, adding that the study "underscores the importance" of the CriMNet initiative.
The study said Minnesota had inadequate automation of its felony, domestic violence and mental disability records. According to the study, states compile those records, which are then used by the FBI's National Instant Check System and state agencies to approve potential gun buyers.
"The records we depend upon to stop people with domestic violence or severe mental disability histories from getting guns are lost, inaccessible or are gathering dust in a file," Kessler said. He put the blame squarely on the states:
"The buck stops at the states, where improving the records that stop criminals from getting guns has not been a priority."
The National Rifle Association (NRA) sided with the gun-safety group, saying that state record systems need improvement.
"We think it's vital that the data sent into the National Instant Check System is accurate. . . . We've been saying this for years," said Kelly Whitley, spokesperson for the NRA.
Campion said that some of the 199 illegal gun buyers in Minnesota could have been people who were allowed to buy guns because the background checks were not completed within seven days, as required under state law. But Campion said it's usually easy to get those people to give up their weapons if they're found to be unfit buyers.
"They rarely have difficulty retrieving those firearms, because obviously people don't want to get prosecuted," Campion said. "It's important for citizens in Minnesota to know that there isn't necessarily 199 people running around here with firearms that they shouldn't have."
The study said that gun dealers should be allowed to deny all firearm purchases until background checks are completed, even if the time exceeds the waiting period.
Joseph Olson, a Hamline University law professor and president of the Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance, said that Minnesota has been working hard to improve its records, adding that it's unrealistic to expect perfection from any state's system.
"The state is doing as good a job as it can within the fiscal restraints that are on it," Olson said. "And if you're going to require perfection -- which I know is what Americans For Gun Safety would like to have -- then no one will be able to buy a firearm ever, because you'll never have perfection."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/1102598.html
Steve Mace
Rob Hotakainen
Star Tribune
Published Jan 17 2002
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- At least 199 illegal gun buyers in Minnesota passed background checks and got weapons during a 30-month period because the state failed to adequately automate its felony records, a national gun-safety group said Wednesday.
Nationally, 9,976 felons and others who should have been prohibited from buying guns passed the checks during the 30-month period that ended in June, the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation said in a report released in Washington, D.C.
"The dirty little secret is that our records for Minnesota and almost every state are in terrible shape, and our front-line defense necessary to keep guns out of the hands of criminals is full of holes," said Jim Kessler, the foundation's policy director. The nonpartisan group says it advocates the need for "better laws and stronger enforcement of existing laws to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children."
The report, which included a review of U.S. Justice Department records and state sources, gave failing grades to 22 states; Minnesota received a C.
Between December 1998 and June 2001, the 199 buyers in Minnesota got their guns because only 76 percent of the state's felony records had been automated, the report said. It urged Minnesota to "dramatically improve and automate" its records.
"That's what we're doing," said Kevin Smith, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
State officials said a new computerized system called CriMNet will make it easier for law-enforcement agencies to track and share information about criminals. It's expected to be fully operating by 2005.
The highest grade went to North Carolina, which received a B+. North Carolina had automated 94 percent of its records, the highest rate in the nation, the study found.
"Minnesota got a C, which I think is pretty good, considering nobody got any A's," said Michael Campion, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He said the 199 cases represent just a fraction of the 50,000 people who sought to buy guns in Minnesota during the 30-month period.
Campion defended the state's system, saying it's "working as well as it possibly can." He described the state's records as accurate but incomplete, adding that the study "underscores the importance" of the CriMNet initiative.
The study said Minnesota had inadequate automation of its felony, domestic violence and mental disability records. According to the study, states compile those records, which are then used by the FBI's National Instant Check System and state agencies to approve potential gun buyers.
"The records we depend upon to stop people with domestic violence or severe mental disability histories from getting guns are lost, inaccessible or are gathering dust in a file," Kessler said. He put the blame squarely on the states:
"The buck stops at the states, where improving the records that stop criminals from getting guns has not been a priority."
The National Rifle Association (NRA) sided with the gun-safety group, saying that state record systems need improvement.
"We think it's vital that the data sent into the National Instant Check System is accurate. . . . We've been saying this for years," said Kelly Whitley, spokesperson for the NRA.
Campion said that some of the 199 illegal gun buyers in Minnesota could have been people who were allowed to buy guns because the background checks were not completed within seven days, as required under state law. But Campion said it's usually easy to get those people to give up their weapons if they're found to be unfit buyers.
"They rarely have difficulty retrieving those firearms, because obviously people don't want to get prosecuted," Campion said. "It's important for citizens in Minnesota to know that there isn't necessarily 199 people running around here with firearms that they shouldn't have."
The study said that gun dealers should be allowed to deny all firearm purchases until background checks are completed, even if the time exceeds the waiting period.
Joseph Olson, a Hamline University law professor and president of the Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance, said that Minnesota has been working hard to improve its records, adding that it's unrealistic to expect perfection from any state's system.
"The state is doing as good a job as it can within the fiscal restraints that are on it," Olson said. "And if you're going to require perfection -- which I know is what Americans For Gun Safety would like to have -- then no one will be able to buy a firearm ever, because you'll never have perfection."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/1102598.html
Steve Mace