Different laws and databases affect gun background checks
Devin Kelley, who carried out the massacre at a Texas church, was able to buy four guns even though he had been convicted in the Air Force of domestic violence. Yet he was denied a Texas permit to carry a firearm. Here’s a look at some of the complexities in the laws on buying and carrying guns.
HOW DID KELLEY MANAGE TO BUY A GUN?
Under federal law, anyone convicted of domestic violence cannot purchase a firearm. But the Air Force failed to inform federal law enforcement authorities that Kelley was court-martialed for assaulting his wife and cracking her son’s skull. When he tried to buy guns after his release from a military prison, his conviction was not in the database used to conduct background checks, and the purchases went through.
HOW DOES FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT CHECK SOMEONE’S BACKGROUND FOR A GUN PURCHASE?