“The way our laws are structured unfortunately often times allow people to legally buy guns who shouldn’t,” said Mike McLively, a staff attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence based in San Francisco.
Such was the case in other horrific mass shootings, including Virginia Tech in 2007 and the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting in June: in both instances the records of the gunmen likely would have raised red flags had they been fully examined through the federal background check system.
A large part of the problem: When an individual goes to buy a firearm, they are subject to investigation under the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). A 72-hour hold is put on the sale.
But because federal law operates under the idea of “default proceed,” the sale can legally go through after 72 hours — even if a background check hasn’t been completed. About nine percent of background checks require further investigation, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
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