WASHINGTON,
D.C. – At a “Special Investigation Briefing,” U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky
(D-IL), Ranking Government Reform Committee member Henry Waxman (D-CA)
and other Democrats heard dramatic testimony from undercover agents who
revealed the ease with which individuals, including felons and minors,
can buy guns using fake IDs. The briefing was entitled Lying and Buying:
Using False Information to Obtain Firearms.
Undercover
agents, who purchased firearms in five states using counterfeit driver’s
licenses, fictitious identifications, and bogus paperwork, gave testimony
to the problem of easy access to guns. At the briefing, the
agents from the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report
that found that individuals are able to use false identification to purchase
guns and bypass background checks mandated by the Brady Act for guns manufactured
after 1898. During the course of their investigation, the agents purchased
a total of seven firearms and ammunition in Virginia, West Virginia, Montana,
New Mexico, and Arizona. Undercover agents also purchased an “antique’
gun in perfect working condition. To purchase a weapon in this category,
an individual is not subject to a background check. In a video, the
agents demonstrated the deadly force of the antique weapon.
The
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) requires a very
limited inquiry into the background of a perspective gun purchaser.
Therefore anyone, including criminals and minors, can easily bypass the
system by presenting false or fictitious personal information when purchasing
a deadly weapon.
“I
congratulate Congressman Waxman for requesting the GAO report and for bringing
this very serious issue to the attention of Congress. We must
take immediate steps to strengthen the current system and ensure that background
checks truly keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children,” said
Schakowsky, who supports closing this false identity loophole, as well
as requiring mandatory backgrounds checks at gun shows and full funding
of enforcement efforts.
“Not
long ago, a fake ID in the hands of a teenager maybe meant a case of beer.
Now, a fake ID can just as easily mean a 9mm or a semiautomatic weapon,”
Schakowsky added, pointing to a 16-year-old who used a false identity to
purchase a 9mm handgun, which he later used to shoot a police recruit.
The
minority staff of the Special Investigation Division of the Government
Reform Committee also prepared a report released at the hearing.
The report investigated specific instances of the use of false identification
to purchase weapons. The report found that a felon was able to purchase
dozens of semiautomatic pistols in an interstate gun running ring for drug
dealers by using false driver licenses. In another example,
a parolee used false identification to purchase a gun he later used to
kill another individual. |