Colorado is one of twelve states that go with an obsolete 'belt and suspenders' approach to background checks. It's important to note that the additional CBI background check did not keep the Aurora Theater shooter from arming up.
via the NRA:
CBI is 1 of only 12 states running this type of duplicative state check, as an overwhelming majority of states rely upon the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to clear purchases of firearms through licensed gun dealers. This duplicative and unnecessary program will cost taxpayers over $2 million this year, yet when tasked with responding to a higher than average demand of volume, CBI has failed to show its true value.
Am I being harsh calling said CO lawmaker a Dumbocrat? Well, what else would you call a lawmaker that introduces a proposal without doing any research?
via the Denver Post:
A Denver Democrat wants potential gun buyers to pay for their own criminal background checks and pump the savings into mental-health treatment.
But state Rep. Lois Court said Monday she hasn't done any research yet to see whether her proposal is feasible. She said she needs to talk with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation — the state agency charged with checking the backgrounds of customers to see if they are eligible to purchase firearms — before she decides whether to introduce a bill next session.
"The argument from a lot of people, including law-abiding gun purchasers, is the issue is mental health," Court said. "So let's ask them to be part of the solution."
The number of Coloradans purchasing firearms in recent weeks has increased so dramatically that the time to process an application has jumped from an average of 23 minutes to seven days. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has a backlog of 11,000 applications.
The Colorado Department of Public Safety, the umbrella agency over the CBI,plans to ask lawmakers for a $500,000 supplemental appropriationfor more staff and technology to handle the checks.
Currently, the CBI does not charge a fee to perform a criminal background check on gun customers but does for other purposes, including performing checks on teachers before they are hired. Taxpayers pick up the cost of performing gun-sale checks.
Read more here.
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