Excellent and well explained information.
However I did not think ATF was involved directly in the instant background check system - thought that was FBI
In fact it seems that there were a few people murdered by someone recently who got a gun after 3 days because the person processing the approval request put the paperwork in a folder and forgot about it. The person was not entitled... should have been rejected.
Some facts that seem lost in the current discussion is the horrible lack of prosecution and enforcement against those who put false statements on the 4473. Felons and domestic violence subjects and aliens fill out the form - effectively their sworn statement that they are entitled to purchase a firearm. The federal penalty for doing that is significant - maybe 5 years in prison. In recent years about 45000-70000 people try to get a firearm. As I understand it about 30-50 have been prosecuted. It would be interesting to know how many of those people violating federal law, remaining at-large, obtained firearms "through other means" and then committed serious crimes including homicides.
Another group of concern are those who don't pass the background check - but also do not get rejected. They are entitled to pick up their firearm after 3 days - if no rejection. And if a few days or weeks later they are found to have obtained a firearm illegally, I believe ATF has a statutory responsibility to chase down the firearm and confiscate it. Maybe 40-45000 people... and maybe 40-70 firearms are retrieved.
These people would seem to be fodder for convictions - they signed the form. Instead they are out. I have not found any study of how many of them have committed homicides. Probably their names are not considered public information.
And - I was told (sorry, no time to confirm) that many murderers - especially gang related - in Chicago are found to have had 3-4 previous firearms convictions with sentences of 1 to 4 months. And the prosecution of straw buyers in Chicago is very low - putting the girl friend of a gang member in prison for 2 years is not a priority.
The one other fact that seems left out of discussions - maybe because of the cable network 24 hour news covering minor and major shootings: firearms homicides are about 1/2 of the levels seen around 1986. Almost every year the rate has gone down.
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