Biden-Harris admin tightens gun background checks to 'reduce gun violence'

The Department of Justice announced several actions on Thursday that the Biden-Harris administration says will "reduce gun violence." This includes setting model legislation that pushes to tighten firearm background checks by using mental health and criminal history from the younger years of prospective firearms purchasers. The actions stem from the Biden-Harris administration's Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) of 2022. 

The DOJ said in a press release that the agency's goal is to crack down on illicit possession of firearms, specifically for those under 21. The legislation and information intends to get states to share information on juveniles' criminal history and mental health records with the National Instant Criminal Background Check Systems (NICS). 



"The Department of Justice is committed to doing everything in its power to combat gun violence and save lives," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "Today's actions are a continuation of our efforts to fully implement the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, to provide critical funding to community violence intervention programs, and to assist our state and local partners as they work day in and say out to drive down gun crime." 

In order to ascertain whether a buyer under the age of 21 is prohibited from purchasing a firearm, NICS is obliged by the BSCA legislation to get in touch with state and local law enforcement agencies. To ensure that childhood transgressions do not follow young people into adulthood, several states and territories have significant regulations limiting the sharing of juvenile mental health and/or criminal history records to ensure the privacy of the information. 

Simultaneously, these measures can prevent states from giving the FBI records that would disqualify those records when an expanded background check is used. The DOJ said its legislation offers a model for states that would provide juvenile history for those under 21 seeking to buy a firearm. The measure, however, may raise concerns for some over the sharing of medical history as well as other information from their younger years.