http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56186-2003May29.html
Ninety one percent of gun purchases are subject to instant FBI criminal background checks, a 20 percent improvement over the response rate two years ago, says a new Justice Department report, according to the Associated Press.
The improvement means that most gun dealers now can get information immediately over the phone or via computer about whether a prospective firearms purchaser is a convicted felon or is prohibited from buying a weapon. In the past, many dealers had to wait for an FBI agent to review records.
Critics note that many sales at gun shows remain unregulated. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) recently released a Congressional Research Service study showing that U.S. lists of known terrorists are not included in the federal databases used to check gun buyers.
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56186-2003May29.html