U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (R-PA), aiming to keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers, has introduced legislation calling on states to prioritize and increase reporting of their criminal records into a national database.
“This critical information could result in saved lives,” Costello said on Tuesday in introducing the bipartisan Domestic Violence Records Reporting Improvement Act of 2017, H.R. 4183.
In fact, incomplete records reporting by states to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) has allowed some 6,700 firearms to get transferred over more than a decade to prohibited domestic abusers, according to a 2016 government report.
And according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), the presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation raises the risk of homicide by 500 percent. Furthermore, every day of the week across America, domestic violence hotlines pick up approximately 20,800 calls, NCADV reports.
States may access two federal programs to obtain grants to support their NICS reporting: the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) and the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP).
Enacted by Congress in the 1990s, the grants have helped states successfully file NICS reports on convicted domestic abusers and reduce their access to firearms. However, according to Costello, states need to step it up.
“Our background check system is only as strong as it is comprehensive,” he said, pointing out that it’s imperative for officials to “have the tools and resources they need to report the information that makes these records complete.”
While text of H.R. 4183 isn’t yet available, state eligibility for the NCHIP and NARIP grants would be based upon “compliance with certain requirements relating to increasing reporting of domestic violence records,” according to a Library of Congress summary.
“I am committed to rededicating our efforts to encourage states to report domestic violence records to the appropriate government agencies,” Costello said.
Mary Kay Bernosky, chief executive officer of Safe Berks in Reading, Pennsylvania, said law enforcement needs to have tools to keep families safe.
“Those of us who work with survivors know that there are factors that indicate a likelihood for fatal violence,” Bernosky said. “Rep. Costello’s bill allows law enforcement to accurately record these factors and use them to keep firearms out of the hands of those most likely to use them to kill a partner or spouse.”
U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) cosponsored H.R. 4183 with Costello. The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.