Give Brady Law credit: It’s working

Thursday, June 20, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

DESPITE impassioned objections from detractors, the Brady Law is effective legislation that is keeping handguns away from people who should never have them.

Even the most ardent gun enthusiasts should admit that. They also should concede it's something of a relief to know more than 1,000 Nevada felons can't buy guns any more.

Since Feb. 28, 1994, when the law went into effect in Nevada, more than 70,000 background checks have been conducted and 1,078 applicants were discovered to have felony records. The law bans handgun purchases by felons. It is the first such enforcement effort, even though arming criminals has been technically illegal for years. Before the Brady Law, felons simply falsified answers on a form when purchasing a weapon. No system of checks was in place. Criminals weren't caught unless a link between the purchase and a subsequent crime was detected.

The constitutionality of the Brady Law will be reviewed by the Supreme Court this year, on a challenge of whether federal authorities can order state officials to absorb the costs of background checks.

In Nevada, the purchaser defrays some of those costs in his $15 application fee. This has established a quick compliance mechanism that's convenient for the dealer and the customer. Computers clear 80 percent of the applicants in seconds. Others are cleared up within five days.

The law has brought an unexpected benefit. Seventy four applicants were found to have outstanding warrants and, of those, 34 were arrested.

In terms of public safety, it's no small thing to disarm 1,000 felons and lock up 34 fugitives. The Brady Law may just have prevented 1,000 crimes, many of which would have occurred in Clark County.

The law represents a good compromise between firearm rights advocates and the need for public safety. There also is more than a century of legal precedent of barring gun ownership to criminals. Historic restrictions on convicted felons were more onerous than they are now. Besides, the founding fathers, in formulating the Second Amendment to arm the people for military self-defense -- as an alternative to standing armies -- never envisioned armed criminals roaming the streets.

The law is so beneficial, it would be in the interest of Nevadans to voluntarily assume enforcement costs if the Supreme Court rules federal authority is illegal.

The Brady Law should stay on the books. It, coupled with a long-needed crackdown on the illegal gun trade -- that supplies firearms to gangs and other criminals -- should have a telling effect on the crime rate.