Laws In 27 States Mean Background Checks Intact; Idaho Faces Fall Crunch

Friday’s Supreme Court ruling on the Brady law doesn’t mean criminal background checks for gun buyers are off all over the country. Only Ohio is halting the checks immediately.

Officials in Idaho and many other states say the checks will remain in place while they study the ruling. And the ruling will have no effect in 27 states that have their own laws mandating checks.

The vast majority of police jurisdictions will continue the checks “because it is in the interest of felons to be able to buy handguns over the counter with no questions asked,” said Dennis Henigan, general counsel for Handgun Control Inc., which is chaired by Sarah Brady.

From New Hampshire to Oregon, officials said they did not expect much, if any, impact from the ruling.

Some gun dealers said they also expect no sudden changes, such as people rushing to buy handguns before the federal system comes online.

The supervisor for Idaho’s instant check system said Friday that the 3-year-old program will continue providing gun dealers with background checks on handgun customers.

But now that the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to let county sheriffs off the hook for providing the checks if the state does not, Lonnie Gray said he is unsure what will happen once the state instant check program goes broke this fall.

“We’re just going to keep pressing on until we hear something different,” Gray said. “The money situation will be there.”

Lawmakers refused to subsidize the program anymore this year, and some gun dealers and the National Rifle Association made sure a handgun surcharge to cover the cost failed.

Gray said the Department of Law Enforcement has asked the attorney general’s office for advice on how to proceed. But if no more cash is provided, he said the state instant check will probably have to shut down and gun dealers will be forced to follow the five-day waiting period in the federal law. That is the period sheriffs were given to make background checks. They no longer are required to do that, but gun dealers have to provide the time in case sheriffs decide to voluntarily run the check.

Ohio Deputy Attorney General Mark Weaver said the court’s decision removes the state’s authority to carry out background checks. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation was to stop accepting requests for background checks from gun dealers as of Friday night.

And in Texas’ El Paso County, Sheriff Leo Samaniego said his department probably will stop checking gun buyers who live outside the El Paso city limits.

“The message I guess that is sent out is: Go buy whatever. Nobody needs to know what kind of record you’ve got or if you’ve been in a mental institution or anything like that,” Samaniego said.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: HE FOUGHT THE LAW …. “This is not a victory for me. This is a victory for the American people … This has nothing to do with states’ rights. Obviously, I believe states are going to benefit from this very historic decision. We’re not going to be shuffling papers and running errands for federal officials. We’ll be able to do our essential jobs.” Sheriff Jay Printz Ravalli County, Mont., lawman who fought the Brady law before the Supreme Court.