4 ms·

One piece of data they cannot access is firearm ownership. It is illegal to use a computer to store information about guns in America.

Doches 7y ago
This is genuinely the most amusing joke I've heard today. How do you think background checks for purchases work?
- gourou 7y ago
  spinlock seems mutex
- jumbopapa 7y ago
  Background checks do not contain information about gun ownership. It is federally illegal to have a registry of gun ownership.
- dfsegoat 7y ago
  I am not sure why it is amusing? The interpretation is correct: The background system is called NICS [1], and all information submitted to it is destroyed after 1 day. The system only outputs PROCEED or DENY to the FFL when someone is being checked for a firearms purchase. 1 - "Per Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 25.9(b)(1), (2), and (3), the NICS Section must destroy all identifying information on allowed transactions prior to the start of the next NICS operational day. If a potential purchaser is delayed or denied a firearm and successfully appeals the decision, the NICS Section cannot retain a record of the overturned appeal." https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/nics/about-nics https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/nics/about-nics
  - ORioN63 7y ago
    What about FFL? Can FFL entities keep data about gun trade and share it with third parties?
- bluedino 7y ago
  I am guessing the parent is referring to the “Acquisitions and Dispositions” bound book, which up until recently had to be kept on paper. It is permissible to keep these records in software if of the last year or two. These books are kept by firearms sellers (FFL) and must be present to the ATF upon request
- homonculus1 7y ago
  They check against data for crime. How do you think background checks work?
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  https://www.gq.com/story/inside-federal-bureau-of-way-too-many-guns https://www.gq.com/story/inside-federal-bureau-of-way-too-ma... > There's no telling how many guns we have in America—and when one gets used in a crime, no way for the cops to connect it to its owner. The only place the police can turn for help is a Kafkaesque agency in West Virginia, where, thanks to the gun lobby, computers are illegal and detective work is absurdly antiquated. On purpose. > That's been a federal law, thanks to the NRA, since 1986: No searchable database of America's gun owners. So people here have to use paper, sort through enormous stacks of forms and record books that gun stores are required to keep and to eventually turn over to the feds when requested. It's kind of like a library in the old days—but without the card catalog. They can use pictures of paper, like microfilm (they recently got the go-ahead to convert the microfilm to PDFs), as long as the pictures of paper are not searchable. You have to flip through and read. No searching by gun owner. No searching by name.
manfredo 7y ago
This is not true. California does register and track all guns sold and transferred in the State.
zbyte64 7y ago
The tool tracks where you have been, your bank account, etc. So while it may not tell what guns were purchased, it can tell if they have visted a shooting range.

Doches 7y ago

This is genuinely the most amusing joke I've heard today. How do you think background checks for purchases work?

gourou 7y ago
spinlock seems mutex
jumbopapa 7y ago
Background checks do not contain information about gun ownership. It is federally illegal to have a registry of gun ownership.
dfsegoat 7y ago
I am not sure why it is amusing? The interpretation is correct: The background system is called NICS [1], and all information submitted to it is destroyed after 1 day. The system only outputs PROCEED or DENY to the FFL when someone is being checked for a firearms purchase. 1 - "Per Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 25.9(b)(1), (2), and (3), the NICS Section must destroy all identifying information on allowed transactions prior to the start of the next NICS operational day. If a potential purchaser is delayed or denied a firearm and successfully appeals the decision, the NICS Section cannot retain a record of the overturned appeal." https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/nics/about-nics https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/nics/about-nics
- ORioN63 7y ago
  What about FFL? Can FFL entities keep data about gun trade and share it with third parties?
bluedino 7y ago
I am guessing the parent is referring to the “Acquisitions and Dispositions” bound book, which up until recently had to be kept on paper. It is permissible to keep these records in software if of the last year or two. These books are kept by firearms sellers (FFL) and must be present to the ATF upon request
homonculus1 7y ago
They check against data for crime. How do you think background checks work?
ceejayoz 7y ago
https://www.gq.com/story/inside-federal-bureau-of-way-too-many-guns https://www.gq.com/story/inside-federal-bureau-of-way-too-ma... > There's no telling how many guns we have in America—and when one gets used in a crime, no way for the cops to connect it to its owner. The only place the police can turn for help is a Kafkaesque agency in West Virginia, where, thanks to the gun lobby, computers are illegal and detective work is absurdly antiquated. On purpose. > That's been a federal law, thanks to the NRA, since 1986: No searchable database of America's gun owners. So people here have to use paper, sort through enormous stacks of forms and record books that gun stores are required to keep and to eventually turn over to the feds when requested. It's kind of like a library in the old days—but without the card catalog. They can use pictures of paper, like microfilm (they recently got the go-ahead to convert the microfilm to PDFs), as long as the pictures of paper are not searchable. You have to flip through and read. No searching by gun owner. No searching by name.

manfredo 7y ago

This is not true. California does register and track all guns sold and transferred in the State.

zbyte64 7y ago

The tool tracks where you have been, your bank account, etc. So while it may not tell what guns were purchased, it can tell if they have visted a shooting range.