Three cities are suing the Department of Justice for its management of the FBI’s background check system.
New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco filed the lawsuit this month claiming that the Nov. 5 church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, “could, and should, have been prevented.”
The deranged lunatic who shot and killed 26 people had a documented history of domestic violence while serving in the Air Force. He should have been listed in the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) as a “prohibited person.”
However, the Air Force failed to turn those records over to NICS. Since those records were not reported, the killer was able to purchase the rifle he used in the attack from a gun store in San Antonio.
The lawsuit “seeks narrowly-tailored injunctive relief to make certain that never happens again.”
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions has already ordered the FBI and ATF to do “a comprehensive review of the NICS.” But those municipalities believe the internal audit is not enough. They want an independent third party to get involved to ensure compliance and establish a timetable for completion.
“The national criminal background check system is the backbone of common-sense gun regulations,” San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a statement.
“The Defense Department’s failure to fulfill its legal duty and accurately report criminal convictions puts innocent Americans at risk,” he continued “It is past time to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to keep guns out of the wrong hands.”
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a “Fix NICS” bill that was added to the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. The House voted to pass the legislation earlier this month.
It seems that the holes in NICS are obvious enough to everyone at this point. Though, a word of caution to those who view a “fixed” NICS as a panacea for gun violence. It won’t be. Relying on a government system to keep you safe is like relying on the mainstream media to tell you the truth. In either case, you better have a backup plan.
The lawsuit should be filed against 1. The Agency failing to report to NICS was prescribed and 2. Most importantly, the lazy added bureaucrats who failed to do their jobs PERSONALLY. That would get their attention. I was once sued like that as an LEO and my sorry agency “monitored” the case. Fortunately I was PBA member and they represented me. I blame a corrupt democrap judge for the whole mess, he convicted 23 blacks of the exact same charge without a blink and found this white kid with a clueless attorney not guilty!
I find San Francisco law suit particularly amusing. DoD’s failure to file the equivalent of felonies, domestic violence and head cases is miniscule in comparison with the state of California. California doesn’t file adjudicated mental cases to the FBI for inclusion in the NICS database, claiming it violates their privacy laws.
San Francisco filing suit is particularly ironic. DoD’s failure to file felons and head cases is miniscule in comparison with California’s failure to file adjudicated mental cases to the FBI for inclusion in the NICS database. The state claims it violates their privacy laws.
To error is human. However, to really fuck up – you need a computer.
So let’s say the database worked, the gun store said “sorry buddy, can’t sell you this gun.” You think he’d just snap his fingers and forget about it? DRAT, FOILED AGAIN.
Come on.
Isn’t fucking funny that the cities that refuse to follow federal law are the ones trying to use the federal legal system to sue the DOJ and the funniest part is it wasn’t the DOJ that fucked up it was the Air force That screwed the pooch!!!!
I find this ironic that San Francisco is suing over this. Are they not the ones that recently acquitted an illegal alien of murder and only convicted him of illegal possession of a stolen firearm by a convicted felon ? Really, you let real murderers free, yet feel that it is a moral injustice that people are not reported to nics ? They also DO NOT HAVE ANY GUN STORES LEFT IN SAN FRANCISCO THAT MIGHT BE AFFECTED BY THIS , SINCE THEY ALL CLOSED OR LEFT DUE TO THEIR BS OVER REGULATION ! So, how can they ever bring a suit ??
I wonder if San Francisco is reporting illegal aliens for the NICS system? Probably not, they won’t report them relative to other Federal laws, especially now that CA is a Sanctuary State. Hey, maybe there will be a plea deal where the Feds agree to police their agencies and San Francisco agrees to work with ICE.
I hate this. When the government screws up and something like this happens, it makes all law abiding citizens look bad. Gives the media another weapon against gun ownership. Suing the government however is like suing yourself. The government gets its money from the people, so the people suing ultimately pay the price. The individuals responsible for these screw ups should be fired and even prosecuted. That is the only solution IMO.
HA! Have you ever heard the one about not being able to fight city hall? What a tremendous waste of tax payers dollars. Trying to make any government operated office efficiently is like herding cats. No one is held accountable, so no one cares. they just hang on for their pensions.
Federal law supersedes state law. Any governors, mayors or similar officials who ignore, defy or fail to enforce laws; state or federal should be arrested, and prosecuted to the FULLEST extent of the law. This country is being slowly reconstructed by our enemies; SOCIALISTS. This incidious process must be identified and eliminated. The Constitution of America must be preserved!
These cities have no standing to sue, that would be up to the state of Texas, or the City therein. But the lawsuit should be about the abysmal treatment of the mentally ill in this country. That is the real culprit here.
Just to add to what you said; California does their own background checks and doesn’t directly use NICS. Same for New York City and State. Philadelphia falls under PICS system. Although they may use federal data, they don’t use NICS directly.
Get your facts straight. NY state DOES use NICS. I have to go through one every time i purchase a firearm there. It is NOT done by the state, it IS done by the FBI NICS system !
That’s not true about New York; we use NIC’s for any purchases from a gun dealer or store. 12G shotgun or a 357 revolver doesn’t matter – all gun purchases are required to go thru NIC’s here in NY. Handguns have even more stringent rules from purchase order to amending your license.
Reality is DoJ dropped the ball massively not updating NICS. Its a decent system for keeping guns out of some bad hands, its quick, and as a buyer I don’t mind it. Its not perfect, but its only as good as the data put in, and the Feds screwed up not keeping it updated. If it requires an outside party to keep ’em honest, so be it.
Air Force screwed up. The UCMJ needs to flag certain convictions as “misdemeanor acts of domestic violence” to match civilian statutes. Also, military ordered mental health issues need to be reported like a civilian hold or hospitalization is “supposed” to be reported.
The Feds are the Feds, but this one is on DOD and specifically, the Air Force, not DOJ, FBI and BATFE.
As a gun dealer, I have to rely on NICS, so accuracy is paramount for me. That said, no law will prevent criminals, or more importantly those intending to become criminals, from obtaining a gun. Like all law enforcement, NICS is reactive. That”s the way a free society works, a Tom Cruise movie notwithstanding. This is grandstanding by cities that exhibit no respect for immigration law and is meant to distract the public from that fact.
I would be curious to know if these liberal dystopian bastions without moral consequence’ law enforcement, judicial systems, and mental health institutions have been reporting to NICS.