Behind the Juvenile Veil: Background Check Limitations

• In Event: Describing, Reacting to, and Navigating Through Gun Policy

Abstract

There are a number of loopholes to US background checks which allow known dangerous individuals to legally acquire handguns. This issue gains prominence every time there is a mass shooting which is disturbingly common now. A study of 15 deadly mass shootings showed that 80% of the perpetrators exhibited violent or threatening behaviors that had been reported to the police prior to the shootings, and 47% had a specific interest in homicide or mass shootings (Lankford, Adkins, & Madfis, 2019). Juveniles are and should remain the most protected class when it comes to the release of personal information. This protection has to be balanced against compelling information from an individual’s past that could indicate that they pose a severe threat to society. This talk will discuss the insufficiencies of the US firearms licensing background checks pertaining to individuals with prohibitive juvenile records. The US policies will be contrasted to firearm policies in Great Britain, Australia, and Switzerland. Potential solutions to help curb the mass shooting that occur in the US will be presented.

Author

• Teresa Marie, University of Nevada, Las Vegas