Disagreement among pro-gun groups over gun bill
The nation’s two leading pro-gun groups are at odds over a bill currently before Congress. The “National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Act of 2005,” HR 1415, was introduced by anti-Second Amendment Democrats Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy in 2002. If passed, it would improve the NICS—the system for screening potential gun buyers for past criminal convictions or mental problem. The original bill passed the House in 2002, but died in the Senate. HR 1415 passed a House subcommittee in May and is slotted to come before the Judiciary Committee in September.
Gun Owners of America believes the bill is unconstitutional because it not only infringes on the right of the people to keep and bear arms, but it also transfers state power to the federal government, violating the Tenth Amendment. The National Rifle Association, on the other hand, views the bill as a useful tool. It “would improve availability of criminal history and other records for conducting background checks on firearm buyers,” and it requires incorrect or irrelevant items found during background checks to be removed. Not that we don’t trust the feds to diligently handle background checks, but we’re inclined to believe that constitutional concerns outweigh the slippery slope of the perceived need for federalization.
The nation’s two leading pro-gun groups are at odds over a bill currently before Congress. The “National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Act of 2005,” HR 1415, was introduced by anti-Second Amendment Democrats Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy in 2002. If passed, it would improve the NICS—the system for screening potential gun buyers for past criminal convictions or mental problem. The original bill passed the House in 2002, but died in the Senate. HR 1415 passed a House subcommittee in May and is slotted to come before the Judiciary Committee in September.
Gun Owners of America believes the bill is unconstitutional because it not only infringes on the right of the people to keep and bear arms, but it also transfers state power to the federal government, violating the Tenth Amendment. The National Rifle Association, on the other hand, views the bill as a useful tool. It “would improve availability of criminal history and other records for conducting background checks on firearm buyers,” and it requires incorrect or irrelevant items found during background checks to be removed. Not that we don’t trust the feds to diligently handle background checks, but we’re inclined to believe that constitutional concerns outweigh the slippery slope of the perceived need for federalization.
