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Abstract: 

As reports of mass shootings continue to proliferate in the daily news, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco have been working together to turn the plague of gun violence into a distant memory from the past. This article reports on a lawsuit filed in response to the U.S. military’s failure to report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) the names of service members whom the military prohibited from possessing a gun due to a criminal conviction or a dishonorable discharge. Such failures to report have contributed to the shocking accumulation of deadly mass shootings in this country. The lawsuit is especially justified given that in the past, the Department of Defense (DOD) had already been cautioned about these failures. Thus, it is likely that certain incidents of gun violence could have been prevented had the DOD instead fulfilled its reporting obligations.

Keywords: Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)

Affiliations:  1: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.