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“LIE AND BUY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S12055 on Sept. 26, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
LIE AND BUY
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, on September 18, 2003, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released its annual report on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, also known as NICS. According to its report, approximately 136,000, or 1.7 percent, of the 7.8 million of the gun checks performed by the NICS system resulted in a denial. Since its inception, the NICS database has prevented approximately 976,000 individuals from illegally acquiring a firearm. The report went on to note that 66 percent of the rejections were due to a felony record or outstanding warrant, and about 14 percent were rejected for a domestic violence misdemeanor conviction or restraining order.
Earlier this year, the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation released a report entitled, ``The Enforcement Gap: Federal Gun Laws Ignored.'' The report analyzed the Justice Department's record enforcing and prosecuting gun laws. The report examined prosecution data acquired under the Freedom of Information Act from the Justice Department for fiscal years 2000 through 2002. The AGS study reveals a significant gap between the number of Federal gun crimes committed and the number of Federal prosecutions initiated.
The report found that 20 of the 22 major Federal gun laws are rarely prosecuted. The two statutes consistently enforced are laws against the use of a firearm in the commission of a Federal crime and a felon in possession of a firearm. The 20 laws that address other illegal firearm activity, including gun trafficking, firearm theft, lying on a criminal background check form, removing firearm serial numbers, and selling guns to minors are rarely enforced according to the AGS study.
The statistics in the AGS report are startling. According to AGS, in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, U.S. Attorneys filed only 578 cases against individuals who lied on the criminal background check form to purchase a firearm despite the fact that over 100,000 people were denied purchases for that reason. President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft pledged to vigorously enforce the gun laws on the books, but the AGS report seems to indicate that the Bush administration has failed to live up to the promise. I believe vigorous law enforcement is a critical step toward reducing gun violence. I urge the Justice Department to step up its efforts to prosecute not only people who commit gun crimes, but those who illegally seek to buy a gun.
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