In conversations with others and another forum (don't remember which one), a Proposed Citizen-Accessible NICS for Universal Background Investigation proposal has been discussed which, in my opinion, would address many of the concerns of both sides of the issue. While I am sure there wholes that can be poked in the proposal, I think it is at least worth discussing an alternative to what our senator's are proposing:
The proposal:
The federal government will create a system like NICS that will allow ALL citizens who wish to purchase a firearm the ability to enter their own identifying information (name, birth date, birthplace, social security number) into a system that provides the citizen with a’buyer code’ that the citizen could then provide to the seller of the firearm.
By entering their own information, the potential-buyer would not have to share their sensitive Personally Identifiable Information to another party.
The seller could then access the system, enter the buyer’s name, and birthdate – both easily obtained from government issued identification that the buyer would show to the purchaser - and then seller enters the ‘buyer code’ provided by the buyer.
The citizen-accessible NICs would then validate the name, birthdate, and ‘buyer code’ and provide to the seller confirmation that the buyer is not prohibited from purchasing a firearm.No link would exist between the purchase or buyer and there would be absolutely no way to create a federal registry of who bought or sold what gun.
By making the system accessible to ALL citizens, there should be no undue burden placed on purchasers or sellers.
This system could also be used to replace the current NICS check performed by licensed dealers.
It is my understanding that currently licensees enter a code provided when NICS approves of the purchase. In the new system, the dealer could enter the code provided by the buyer after the dealer verification that it was valid.
Any potential buyers who are denied by the citizen-accessible NICS would have an appeals process similar to what is currently in place.
In my opinion, it would be good to get some ideas of 'acceptable' universal background check proposals to all of our senators while the debate is still happening.
Any thoughts on such a proposal - Good or Bad?
The proposal:
The federal government will create a system like NICS that will allow ALL citizens who wish to purchase a firearm the ability to enter their own identifying information (name, birth date, birthplace, social security number) into a system that provides the citizen with a’buyer code’ that the citizen could then provide to the seller of the firearm.
By entering their own information, the potential-buyer would not have to share their sensitive Personally Identifiable Information to another party.
The seller could then access the system, enter the buyer’s name, and birthdate – both easily obtained from government issued identification that the buyer would show to the purchaser - and then seller enters the ‘buyer code’ provided by the buyer.
The citizen-accessible NICs would then validate the name, birthdate, and ‘buyer code’ and provide to the seller confirmation that the buyer is not prohibited from purchasing a firearm.No link would exist between the purchase or buyer and there would be absolutely no way to create a federal registry of who bought or sold what gun.
By making the system accessible to ALL citizens, there should be no undue burden placed on purchasers or sellers.
This system could also be used to replace the current NICS check performed by licensed dealers.
It is my understanding that currently licensees enter a code provided when NICS approves of the purchase. In the new system, the dealer could enter the code provided by the buyer after the dealer verification that it was valid.
Any potential buyers who are denied by the citizen-accessible NICS would have an appeals process similar to what is currently in place.
In my opinion, it would be good to get some ideas of 'acceptable' universal background check proposals to all of our senators while the debate is still happening.
Any thoughts on such a proposal - Good or Bad?