Gun Background Checks (NICS) NICS

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, signed November 30, 1993, and named for James Brady, the press secretary wounded in the 1981 attempt on President Reagan's life, first required a five-day waiting period and background check for handgun sales. Since November 30, 1998, the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System has screened buyers of all guns from licensed dealers against databases of people barred from having guns. Some states run the checks themselves.

Most checks are completed within minutes. If a check is not finished within three business days, federal law lets the dealer complete the sale, a gap critics call the Charleston loophole after a 2015 church shooting in which the buyer was cleared by default. The system processes tens of millions of checks a year, including for carry permits, and denials are a small share. Gaps in state reporting of convictions and mental health records have led to failures, and laws in 2007 and 2018 pushed states to submit more records.

Federal law requires checks only for sales by licensed dealers, not private sales between individuals, including many at gun shows and online. About 20 states and D.C. require checks for most private sales. Supporters of universal checks say they would close a major gap and are popular with voters, while opponents say they burden law-abiding owners, would be hard to enforce without a registry, and would not stop criminals who get guns through theft or straw purchases.