Background checks stop 2% of handgun deals

Since 1994, more than 2 percent of attempts to buy handguns in Utah have been blocked by the criminal background check.

Nationally, 2.2 percent, or 173,000 buyers, were rejected of the more than 7.7 million who applied to purchase a handgun, according to the U.S. Justice Department.Starting in November 1998, anyone buying any type of gun from a licensed dealer, including hunting rifles, must undergo a criminal background check. The federal law is a provision of the Brady gun-control law.

In Utah, 115,328 people applied to buy a handgun from a federally licensed firearms dealer since the law went into effect in February 1994. Of those, 2,323 were rejected, according to the Bureau of Criminal Identification, which performs the background checks.

Though the state law has successfully blocked the sale of handguns to many people who are wanted by the law or who have criminal histories, gun-control advocates say the law is too weak.

The law states that only licensed gun dealers must check out prospective buyers. Others - such as those who want to sell a family gun - are under no such requirement.

"That's a very large loophole in the existing law," said Steve Gunn of Utahns Against Gun Violence. "People can buy firearms almost of any kind through nondealers and therefore escape the requirement for a background check."

Elwood Powell of the Utah Shooting Sports Council said the law is adequate as long it does not require a waiting period.

"They have done an extraordinary job in doing computer checks, at least with handguns," Powell said.

In Utah, 1,289 people were stopped from buying a handgun because they had a felony record, 772 for being a fugitive from justice, 152 for having a record of domestic violence and 110 for being the subject of a protective order.

On average, the state received 2,780 applications to buy a handgun each month, while 62 were denied. "It follows the same pattern from month to month," said Todd Peterson, supervisor of the firearms section of BCI.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a major provision in the federal Brady gun-control law that forced states to conduct criminal background checks on firearm purchasers.

The court said it is unconstitutional for the federal government to order state governments to fund and operate crime-check systems to enforce a federal law.