Comment on FR Doc # 2026-08918

● The Brady Act requires licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks on potential firearm purchasers through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), a nationwide network of databases linking criminal history and mental health records from across the country. ● Under the Brady Act, a person who has a qualifying state permit is exempt from the background check at the point of sale. For a permit to qualify it must allow a person to possess or acquire a firearm, have been issued within five years of the transfer, and have been issued only after the state has “verified” that issuance is not in violation of law. ● This rule would broaden recognition of state permits so that permits issued by the states that have not adequately verified make a gun buyer eligible for exemption from the NICS background check. ● Under this proposal, a state permitting system would qualify as an alternative to a NICS check even if the state allows a permit to be issued without a NICS check so long as the state reviews information readily accessible. ○ For example, a misdemeanor assault conviction could be disqualifying if it was a domestic violence crime. However, many records do not include enough information to determine if the relationship between the victim and abuser is one of a domestic nature. As such, additional research is often necessary. This rule would not require significant research to identify the relationship. If states require “extraordinary effort, expense, or means” to confirm the relationship, they would not need to take those steps, even if the equivalent research is a standard part of a NICS check. Instead, this rule would allow a state to issue a permit to the person with the assault conviction based on information that is “readily accessible.” ● In general, the Brady permit exemption (as it is currently enforced) is problematic. Simple possession of a permit/license does not guarantee that the permit holder is a responsible gun owner or legally allowed to purchase a firearm in perpetuity. Permit/license holders who commit felonies or otherwise become prohibited persons often retain their permit/license because many states lack systems to retrieve revoked permits/licenses. ● Nevertheless, this proposal would make it more likely that prohibited people would be able to use a state-issued permit to slip through the cracks in the system and obtain firearms even though they cannot pass a proper NICS background check