Justice Department has barred more than 500 illegal firearm purchases due to enhanced background checks

Since the 2022 implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that, as of December 2023, it had stopped more than 500 unlawful firearm purchases by people under 21 years old.

“In the 19 months since the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the law’s expanded background checks have already kept 500 firearms out of the hands of young people who are prohibited from having them,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “The Justice Department will continue to bring to bear every tool we have to combat the gun violence that plagues our communities.”

The BCSA required the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to undertake background checks before any sale or transfer of firearms to those younger than 21. These checks are also more comprehensive than normal background checks, seeking expanded input from state and local officials who may have additional disqualifying information about the applicant. This has resulted in more than 200,000 enhanced background checks on affiliated transactions.

As a result, the department added, more than 1,900 guns have been kept from those deemed dangerous or otherwise prohibited. Bearing out the weight of the expanded checks, 527 of those checks were based solely on additional information obtained from the expanded BSVA outreach. Without those extra checks, the DOJ stated that the transactions likely would have gone through.

Reasons for denials included felony rape convictions and arrests for attempted murder, declarations of mental illness, and more.