Lions and Tigers and Databases! Oh my!

The recent angst over databases for foreign refugees got me thinking about the databases that already exist for American citizens. Every time a firearm is purchased from a federally licensed dealer, the transaction can only be approved if the buyer completes a background check. That check is completed by the FBI and run through the NICS, National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Florida is a point of contact state, meaning the background checks are performed by the FDLE, Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The FBI website claims that more than 100 million background checks have been performed and that over 700,000 denials have been issued.

What the FBI does not tell you is how many of those denials were erroneous, meaning a law abiding American was denied their Constitutional right due to an error in the database. As with any database, it is only as good as the information it contains. Repeatedly, I assist people who were denied the purchase of a firearm due to incorrect information. All it takes is a simple keystroke error and your rights are infringed until the database is updated.

If the government cannot create a database that accurately records the criminal records of American citizens, then how can it be trusted to know whether people coming into the United States can be trusted when, by the FBI Director’s own admission, there is no database to which the refugees can be compared?