Action Alert! Contact your senator today and ask them to vote “YES” on Senate Bill 2135 that will make the National Instant Criminal Background Check System more complete. You can contact your two U.S. senators by calling (202) 224-3121 and following the prompts or can email them using the Sportsmen’s Alliance Legislative Action Center.
The firearm industry and hunting organizations have united to support legislation to address deficiencies in the background-check system for the purchase of firearms. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was established 20 years ago to prevent those prohibited by law from obtaining a firearm. Unfortunately, the NICS system depends on states and the federal government to provide updates to the database, which has not always been done effectively.
To address this issue, the National Shooting Sports Foundation launched its Fix NICS initiative in 2013 to encourage and assist states to submit all appropriate disqualifying criminal and adjudicated mental health records. While the effort to Fix NICS has yielded a 200-percent increase in records submissions, the work is not done yet as many states still do not submit all appropriate records that would disqualify individuals from legally purchasing firearms.
Senate Bill 2135 provides incentives for states to submit up-to-date information to NICS and punishes agencies that fail to do so, while also holding the federal government accountable for including and processing those records in the background check system.
The “Fix NICS” act could be voted on in the U.S. Senate as early as this week.
All sportsmen want to make sure firearms are not sold to criminals and those with serious mental health problems. Please call your two U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to support S.2135.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
