November 29, 2017

Today Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District applauded the House Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance the FIX NICS Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation she co-sponsored to update the National Instance Criminal Background Check System by ensuring federal and state authorities comply with existing law and accurately report relevant criminal history records to the system’s database.

The investigation into the recent shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, revealed enormous gaps in NICS. This bill provides consequences for federal agencies that fail to properly report relevant records and ensures that states improve their overall reporting. Federal and state records are thoroughly lacking, and this bill helps fill in those gaps.

The Judiciary Committee also moved forward H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, legislation to allow non-residents of a state to carry in other states that have legalized concealed carry.

“In the aftermath of Sutherland Springs, the Air Force has admitted several dozen instances where it failed to report convictions of service members to NICS. We can only expect that the Air Force is not alone in letting people fall through the cracks. I encourage Republican leaders to swiftly bring this bill to the floor for a vote. Instead of passing the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act they should also act favorably on either of my bills to keep bump stocks out of dangerous hands. Nearly two months after the 1 October tragedy, we must do more to prevent the senseless loss of life rather than jeopardize public safety with a bill that allows concealed weapons to be carried anywhere in the U.S.”