FAQ Listing

Each fiscal year’s fellowship solicitation lays out some potential projects. Before applying, institutions can contact BJS staff to find a mutually agreeable project or discuss how to focus the dissertation research to meet BJS needs. Choosing to collaborate early with BJS can help ensure that the project grasps the frequent complexities of BJS data. Such consultations are not required and in no way guarantee BJS will choose the application. Email [email protected] to find out if your project relates to BJS’s work.

Find the solicitation at the Funding page on the BJS website. The solicitation contains details about the application deadline, where to send the application, application requirements, and the selection process.

For more information, select the Funding tab on the BJS website or email [email protected].

The Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended, 18 U.S.C. 921, et seq., establishes the following categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm — any person pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and (n) who:

-- has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
-- is a fugitive from justice;
-- is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance;
-- has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution;
-- is an illegal or unlawful alien or a non-immigrant alien (with certain exceptions);
-- has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;
-- having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship;
-- is subject to a domestic violence protection order that meets certain requirements;
-- has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence; or
-- is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
 

The NICS Improvement Act was enacted in the wake of the April 2007 shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech. The Virginia Tech shooter was able to purchase firearms from an FFL because information about his prohibiting mental health history was not available to the NICS and the system was therefore unable to deny the transfer of the firearms used in the shootings.  The NICS Improvement Act seeks to address the gap in information available to NICS about such prohibiting mental health adjudications and commitments and other prohibiting backgrounds.  Filling these information gaps will better enable the system to operate as intended to keep guns out of the hands of persons prohibited by federal or state law from receiving or possessing firearms.

The NICS is administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).  A NICS check includes a check of three databases maintained by the FBI, including the:

• Interstate Identification Index (III), a database of criminal history record information,
• National Crime Information Center (NCIC) which includes information on persons subject to civil protection orders and arrest warrants, and
• NICS Index which includes the information contributed by federal and state agencies identifying persons prohibited from possessing firearms who are not included in the III or NCIC, such as persons with a prohibiting mental health history or who are illegal or unlawful aliens.

If a NICS check identifies a person as falling within a prohibited category, the FBI advises the FFL that the transfer is "denied." Individuals can appeal denials and seek the correction of the information in the FBI databases by either applying to the FBI or the federal or state agency that contributed the information to the FBI.

The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-180 ("NICS Improvement Act"), was signed into law by the President on January 8, 2008.  The NICS Improvement Act amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 ("the Brady Act") (Pub. L. 103-159), under which the Attorney General established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).  The Brady Act requires Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to contact the NICS before transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person for information on whether the proposed transferee is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under state or federal law.

The NICS Improvement Act grant programs do not supplant NCHIP. Rather, the NICS Improvement Act grants are to be made in a manner "consistent with" and "in accordance with" NCHIP. The major difference from NCHIP is that the NICS Improvement Act grants may only be used for specified purposes related to achieving the completeness goals for the records directly related to NICS checks. In addition, the NICS Improvement Act authorizes a separate grant program for funding that is dedicated to be used by state courts systems, where most of the disposition information missing from the national repositories originates.

For further information on any of these topics, please email the Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison, U.S. Department of Justice.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is available to answer questions about whether existing state laws meet the standards for state relief from disability programs contemplated in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Act. ATF is also available to provide technical assistance to states seeking to establish such programs under the Act. State questions and requests for assistance can be directed to ATF at [email protected]. See also State Relief from Disabilities Program Criteria and Federal Relief From Disabilities Program Criteria.

For fiscal year 2009, $10 million has been appropriated. There are two conditions that each state must satisfy before being eligible to receive grants:

-- First, a state must provide to the Attorney General a "reasonable estimate," based on a methodology established by the Attorney General, of records subject to the Act's completeness requirements; and

-- Second, a state must certify, to the satisfaction of the Attorney General, that the state has implemented a program permitting persons who have been adjudicated a mental defective or committed to a mental institution to obtain relief from the firearms disabilities imposed by law as a result of such adjudication or commitment. This relief must be granted, in accordance with principles of due process, by a state court, board, commission, or other lawful authority. The relief must be based on a finding that the circumstances of the disability and the person's record and reputation are such that the person will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to the public safety and that the granting of relief would not be contrary to the public interest.