WASHINGTON — President Obama's emphasis on fixing federal background checks for firearms sales targeted a system so flawed that even federal agencies, as well as many states, haven't been turning over records meant to determine who can buy guns.
The first six of Obama's 23 executive actions announced Wednesday were pledges to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. The database, maintained by the FBI, holds more than 7.3 million records of people who are barred from buying guns: felons, drug users, domestic violence offenders, fugitives and people who have been committed to mental institutions.
