Need for an accessible, accurate, comprehensive Background Check System

There have been numerous articles and posts about how the VA Tech tragedy may have been prevented if the assailant had been prevented from purchasing firearms because of his mental health history. While there are various legislative bills and orders looking to remedy this loophole, the bigger issue of how criminal histories are compiled and accessed needs to be addressed.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System does not contain a complete list of the crimes, civil trespass orders, arrests and mental health issues that some may consider it to be. According to their site, "The NICS is a national system that checks available records in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Interstate Identification Index (III), and the NICS Index to determine if prospective purchasers are disqualified from receiving firearms."

The culprit appears to be the inconsistency of the different states in what they report and how. Some states do not provide complete information as even their database does not contain all the information available at their county level. Additionally, funding is needed to bring them into compliance with the federal regulation.

Unfortunately, it appears that it takes tragedies such as occurred in Blacksburg, VA to bring attention to the general population to motivate their representatives to make changes. We can only hope that the issue remains in the spotlight till the necessary laws and funding is put into place.