PRESALE
HANDGUN CHECKS MAKE SENSE
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WASHINGTON -- The data released Sunday by the Bureau
of Justice Statistics on presale handgun checks show
that 2.7% of prospective gun purchasers nationwide were
disqualified from buying guns in 1997. In three states
more than 5% of potential buyers were rejected.
"Before the Brady Bill passed in 1993, guns were sold
on the 'honor system.' If you were a convicted felon
or mentally deranged, you were expected to check the
box on a form so the dealer wouldn't sell to you. There
was no check before or after the gun was sold. The Brady
Bill ended the 'honor system' for selling guns to criminals,
drug addicts, the deranged and fugitives from justice.
That's common sense," said Eric E. Sterling, President
of The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. In the 1980s,
Sterling was counsel to the House Judiciary Committee
responsible for federal firearms laws when the Brady
Bill was first developed.
"The BJS data show the Brady Bill is working and demonstrate
the absurdity of an 'honor system' for selling firearms,"
he added.
Before the Brady Act took effect in 1994, The Criminal
Justice Policy Foundation studied presale firearms checks
in states and municipalities around the nation and made
recommendations to the Attorney General and Secretary
of the Treasury.
Eric E. Sterling, an attorney, was counsel to the U.S.
House Judiciary Committee from 1979 to 1989, where he
was principally responsible for anti-drug legislation
and other anti-crime matters. Since 1989, he has been
President of The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation,
a non-profit center that promotes innovative solutions
to the problems of the criminal justice system.
