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Clinton team undermined instant checks
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Clinton team undermined instant checksJAMES JAY BAKER Recently, the well-financed lobbying group that calls itself Americans for Gun Safety has received some press with its complaints about the state of criminal records. The National Rifle Association would like to take this opportunity to welcome AGS to this discussion, although it is 15 years behind the curve.As the NRA's chief lobbyist, I noted during congressional testimony on the Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1987 the sorry state of criminal history records. So, how do we find ourselves in this predicament, notwithstanding all prior warnings?In 1993, Congress directed the FBI to create the National Instant Check System. Its mission to screen criminals instantly was supported by a $314 million appropriation and five-year time frame in which to upgrade state criminal records. Over that time Congress requested several updates from then-Attorney General Janet Reno. Its inquiries went unanswered. What happened? In March 2000, the General Accounting Office audited the FBI's implementation of NICS. The study revealed deficiencies in the system.The failures are rudimentary; the FBI had no backup system; instead of building a dedicated database with necessary information, it strung together existing databases (with irrelevant data). Also, this system failed to meet the FBI's own system security standards.More perplexing was the Justice Department's failure to ensure that the funding was properly spent on the instant check database. Some sources inside say that money was wasted on fingerprinting equipment. No one knows the truth, because a systemic audit was never performed.Again, what happened? The answer is politics, Clinton style. President Clinton wanted NICS to fail to fuel political support for waiting periods. NICS success would have granted victory to Clinton's enemy, the NRA.Ironically, some of the blame lands at the feet of AGS. Senior AGS staffers were in key positions within the Clinton administration and Congress but did nothing to ensure the successful development of NICS.AGS President Jonathan Cowan is the former chief of staff for Clinton's HUD secretary and self-appointed gun czar Andrew Cuomo. Jim Kessler, policy and research director, is the former gun adviser to anti-gun Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).The truth is AGS is the pet project of dot-com billionaire Andrew McKelvey, a former board member of a vehemently anti-gun group, Handgun Control Inc. But, in spite of McKelvey's billions and his efforts to dupe the public with his carefully poll-tested moniker for his gun control group, AGS has no members and no gun safety programs.AGS, whose objective is a national registration scheme for gun owners, seeks to abrogate the rights of law-abiding Americans. The name may be different, but the aspirations have not changed.In contrast, the NRA and our 4 million law-abiding members are a part of a 130-year-old legacy of teaching and investing in gun safety. The failure of the Clinton administration in establishing NICS is now being addressed by a new administration and a new Justice Department. This offers hope that instant check can be overhauled to deliver its promise -- a promise supported by the NRA for 15 years. http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/opinion/0102/0124equal.html