By Donald A. Manson

BJS Program Manager

Darrell K. Gilliard

BJS Statistician

During 1996, about 2,593,000 background checks of potential handgun

buyers prevented an estimated 70,000

purchases. The inquiries revealed purchasers' ineligibility to buy a handgun

under State or Federal laws, particularly the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Pub. L. No. 103-159, 107

Stat. 1536 (1993)) that became effective on February 28, 1994. Nearly 68%

of those rejected had been convicted of

a felony or were under felony indictment.

From March 1, 1994, through 1996,

handgun sellers submitted an estimated 7.8 million inquiries about potential handgun buyers and received about

173,000 rejections. These estimates,

drawn from published estimates of inquiries about potential purchasers of

firearms, include about 62,000 rejections of handgun purchase applications

in the 9 months of 1994 and about

41,000 rejections for all of 1995.

The Firearm Inquiries Statistics (FIST)

program administered by the Bureau of

Justice Statistics (BJS) collected the

1996 data. FIST was initiated in 1994

to describe presale background checks

of applicants to buy a handgun from a

Federal firearm licensee. Chief law enforcement officers made the checks in

accordance with the Brady Act or comparable State legislation.

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Bulletin

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

A National Estimate

Presale Handgun Checks, 1996

September 1997, NCJ 165704

 During 1996 about 70,000 out of an

estimated 2,593,000 applications for

the purchase of a handgun were rejected due to presale background

checks of the potential purchasers. 

 From the inception of the Brady

Handgun Violence Prevention Act until the end of 1996, an estimated

7,782,000 applications for handgun

purchases resulted in 173,000 rejections through background checks.

 The estimates of applications and

rejections for handgun purchases include States operating under the

Brady Act (Brady States) and States

with comparable statutes preventing

handgun sales to prohibited persons

(Brady-alternative States).

 Overall, 2.7% of all handgun purchasers had their application for purchase rejected during 1996. About

68% of the rejections were for a prior

felony conviction or a current felony

indictment.

 This Bulletin reports only estimates

of attempted handgun purchases, and

does not include rifles or other long

guns. 

 A previous BJS Bulletin, Presale

Firearms Checks (NCJ-162787, February 1997), included all attempted

firearm purchases from March 1,

1994, to December 31, 1995, and potential handgun purchases during the

first 6 months of 1996. It estimated

that over the period, on average 

6,600 firearm applications were rejected each month.

 Highlights

Presale handgun checks: Estimates of inquiries and rejections, 1996

Presale checks for handguns, 1/1/96-12/31/96

All 

States

Original

Brady 

States* 

Brady

States

during 1996

Inquiries and rejections 

Inquiries/applications 2,593,000 1,213,000 816,000

Rejected 70,000 44,000 25,000

Rejection rate 2.7% 3.6% 3.1%

Reasons for rejection

Felony indictment/conviction 47,000 35,000 15,000

Other 23,000 9,000 10,000

Note: All estimated counts are rounded.

Percentages were calculated from unrounded data. Detail may not add to total

because of rounding.

*Original Brady States are the 32 States required to

follow presale review procedures set out in the Brady

Act when it became effective on February 28, 1994.

At the end of 1996, 23 of the 32 were still Brady

States. (See table 2.)
The estimates of applications and rejections for handgun purchases include

States operating under the Brady Act

(Brady States) and States with comparable statutes preventing handgun

sales to prohibited persons (Bradyalternative States). The original 32

Brady States started following the

Brady Act review procedures on February 28, 1994. There were 18 original

Brady-alternative States. At the end 

of 1996, because of changed statutes,

there were fewer Brady States (23)

and more Brady-alternative States

(27) than originally.

Rates of rejection of potential handgun

purchases in 1996 can be compared

for these sets of States  the original

or current grouping of Brady and

Brady-alternative States.

In 1996 the original Brady States processed 1,213,000 applications and rejected about 44,000, a rejection rate of

3.6%. The original Brady-alternative

States processed 1,380,000 applications and rejected 26,000  1.9%,

which differed significantly from the

rate for the original Brady States. 

The current Brady States in 1996 processed 816,000 applications, of which

they rejected 25,000, a rejection rate 

of 3.1%. The current Brady-alternative

States processed 1,778,000 and 

rejected 45,000  2.5%, a rate that

was not significantly different from the

rejection rate of current Brady States.

For all States, the most prevalent reason for rejection was that the applicant

either was under felony indictment or

had a felony conviction (67.8%) (table

1). Being a fugitive from justice (6.0%)

or a violator of a State law prohibition

(5.5%) were the next most prevalent

reasons for rejection of a handgun purchase, followed by being under a restraining order (3.9%).

Almost all States are able to check

computer databases to determine past

criminal convictions. Some States are

able to refer to other databases to

check additional characteristics that

may make a person ineligible to purchase a handgun  fugitive status,

court restraining orders, and mental 

illness.

In the 45 States that reported checking

a database for fugitive status, 6% of

handgun application rejections were for

such a status. In the 32 States checking for restraining orders, potential purchasers under court order accounted

for 6% of application rejections. Sixteen States reported searching databases for applicants with mental

illness; in these States mental illness

accounted for 3% of the handgun application rejections. 

These categories are defined in the

Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as

amended, or related State legislation.

During 1996 background checks were

made on almost 2.6 million applicants

for handgun purchases. Since the inception of the Brady Act, nearly 7.8

million background checks have been

made. Through the end of 1996 about

173,000 of these applicants were prevented from legally purchasing a handgun.

Statewide reporting of handgun 

applications and rejections

State governments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

(ATF) have cooperated to identify

about 5,400 law enforcement agencies

and their heads as chief law enforcement officers (CLEOs) nationwide.

Data for 1996 were collected from 311

CLEOs out of a sample of 600. 

Among the responding CLEOs, 21

served as the only CLEO for the State

and provided statewide totals (table 3).

These States, which represented 50%

of U.S. resident population and over

half of the total applications for handgun purchases during 1996, processed

1,513,129 applications and rejected

36,030  a rejection rate of 2.4%.

Seventy-three percent of rejections

were for a past felony conviction or 

felony indictment. 

2 Presale Handgun Checks, 1996

Percent of rejections 

in States which search

Nonfelony records for specific 

reason nonfelony reasons 

Fugitive 6% 

Court restraining orders 6

Mental illness 3

Table 1. Reasons for rejection of handgun purchase 

applications, national estimates, 1996

Reasons for rejection All States

Original

Brady States

Brady States

during 1996

 Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Felony (indictment/

conviction/no disposition) 67.8 78.9 61.0

Fugitive 6.0 7.5 13.0

State law prohibition 5.5 .9 --

Restraining order 3.9 2.8 3.5

Mental illness or disability 1.5 .4 .8

Drug addiction 1.2 1.8 4.4

Local law prohibition .7 .3 .7

Other* 13.4 7.4 16.6

--Less than .05%.

*Includes illegal aliens, juveniles, persons discharged from the armed 

services dishonorably, persons who have renounced their U.S. 

citizenship, domestic violence, and other unspecified persons. At the end

of 1996, 23 of the 32 original Brady States were still Brady States.

Reason for rejection

by 21 Statewide CLEOs

Felony (indictment/ 

conviction/no disposition) 73%

Fugitive 6

State law prohibition 4

Restraining order 4

Mental illness or disability 1

Drug addiction 1

Other* 11

*Includes illegal aliens, juveniles, persons

discharged from the armed services 

dishonorably, persons who have renounced

their U.S. citizenship, domestic violence,

and other unspecified persons.
Background

Thirty-two States and Puerto Rico were

required to follow the review procedures set forth in the Brady Act when it

became effective (identified in this Bulletin as original Brady States). 

By the end of 1996, the number of

States following the Brady Act review

procedures rather than alternative

State statutes had dropped to 23 (identified as current Brady States; see table 2 for each State's Brady status.) 

Pursuant to the Federal Gun Control

Act of 1968, as codified at 18 U.S.C. 

' 922, the sale of firearms is prohibited

if the prospective 

purchaser 

is a juvenile;

is a fugitive from justice;

is under indictment for, or has been

convicted of, a crime punishable by 

imprisonment for more than 1 year;

is an unlawful user of a controlled 

substance;

has been adjudicated as a mental 

defective or committed to a mental

institution;

is an alien unlawfully in the United 

States;

was discharged from the armed 

forces under dishonorable conditions;

has renounced U.S. citizenship;

is subject to a court order restraining

him or her from harassing, stalking,

or threatening an intimate partner or

child; or 

is a person convicted of domestic

violence.

 Presale Handgun Checks, 1996 3

Table 3. Number of applications to

buy handguns received or rejected 

in 21 States reporting complete data,

1996

Number of 

applications Rejection

State Received Rejected rate

 Total 1,513,129 36,030 2.4%

Arizona 72,715 2,203 3.0%

Arkansas 25,742 506 2.0

California 215,804 2,111 1.0

Colorado 51,450 3,518 6.8

Delaware 11,826 639 5.4

Florida 213,133 6,236 2.9

Georgia 89,786 8,463 9.4

Idaho 24,604 791 3.2%

Illinois 178,168 1,997 1.1

Indiana 81,974 907 1.1

Kentucky 67,830 1,600 2.4

Maryland 31,362 344 1.1

Nevada 28,253 574 2.0

New Hampshire 12,997 161 1.2

New Jersey 24,672 280 1.1%

Ohio 60,037 330 .5

South Carolina 53,153 2,467 4.6

Utah 34,073 595 1.7

Virginia 182,384 1,896 1.0

West Virginia 20,538 224 1.1

Wisconsin 32,628 188 .6

Note: Each State had 1 CLEO that 

reported complete State-wide data for 

applications and rejections for 1996.

Table 2. Gun purchaser background checks 

for handgun purchases, by State, 1996a

Number of law

enforcement

agencies 

responsible for

record checks

State databases being accessed 

State

 Brady Status 

Original Current 

 3/1/94 12/31/96

Criminal

histories

Wanted

fugitives

Restraining

orders

Mental

health

Alabama 67

Alaska 35

Arizona 1

Arkansas 1

Californiab 1

Colorado 1

Connecticut 1

Delawareb 1

Floridab 1

Georgia 1

Hawaiib 4

Idaho 1

Illinoisb 1

Indiana 1

Iowa 99

Kansas 123

Kentucky 5

Louisiana 64

Maine 128

Maryland 1

Massachusetts 270

Michigan 595

Minnesota 568

Mississippi 263

Missouri 115

Montana 56

Nebraska 95

Nevada 1

New Hampshire 1

New Jersey 483

New Mexico 113

New York 58

North Carolina 100

North Dakota 53

Ohio 1

Oklahoma 440

Oregon 1

Pennsylvania 67

Rhode Islandb 39

South Carolina 1

South Dakota 66

Tennessee 96

Texas 991

Utah 1

Vermont 22

Virginiab 1

Washington 291

West Virginia 1

Wisconsin 1

Wyoming 40

Total 32 23 5,367 49 45 32 16

a

In the Brady States contacts are the chief law enforcement officers (CLEOs); in 

Brady-alternative States these contacts are identified according to criteria of each State.

b

Background checks are required for handguns and long guns.
Brady Act

The Brady Act was enacted in November 1993 and became effective in February 1994. The interim provisions of

the Act require that Federally licensed

firearm dealers request a presale

check on all potential handgun purchasers. The requests are made to

CLEOs in the jurisdictions where the

prospective purchasers reside. The

Federal firearms licensee must wait 5

business days before transferring the

handgun to the buyer, unless earlier

approval is received from the CLEO.

These interim procedures will terminate

no later than November 30, 1998.

The "interim provision" also permits

States to follow a variety of alternative

State procedures. (See Survey of

State Procedures Related to Firearm

Sales, 1996, BJS report, NCJ-163918,

September 1997.) To qualify under

these alternatives, State law must require that before any licensee completes the transfer of a handgun to a

nonlicensee, a government official

must verify that possession of a handgun by the transferee would not be a

violation of law. Examples of Bradyalternative States include California

("point-of-sale check"), Virginia ("instant check"), and Missouri (permit).

After November 1998 a Federal firearms licensee will be required to perform background checks on potential

purchasers of all firearms. These inquiries will be made through the National Instant Criminal Background

Check System (NICS) which the FBI

will operate and maintain. 

Under the provisions of the Brady Act,

the NICS must be established no later

than November 1998, at which time the

procedures related to the 5-day waiting

period of the interim system will be

eliminated. These "instant" background

checks will determine, based on available records, if an individual is prohibited under the Federal Gun Control Act

or State law from receiving or possessing firearms. 

4 Presale Handgun Checks, 1996

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms has calculated the number

of applications for firearm purchases

from March of 1994 to the end of

1995. (See Presale Firearm Checks,

BJS Bulletin, NCJ-162787, February

1997.) In the first 9 months 

of 1994 there were an estimated

3,679,000 inquiries to the FBI's National Crime Information Center

(NCIC); in 1995, an estimated

4,009,000. 

The ATF estimates were calculated

using the number of firearm-coded inquiries to the NCIC. The percentage

of denials used for these estimates

was based on the experiences of jurisdictions that had implemented presale

firearms check procedures prior to the

Brady Act. 

The Firearm Inquiries Statistics (FIST)

program administered by BJS receives data from a sample of chief law

enforcement officers responsible for

background checks of firearm purchasers. The FIST data describe only

applications for handgun purchases, a

fraction of the larger number of potential firearm purchases. (The Brady

Act as well covers only applications

for a handgun purchase.)

FIST began in January 1996. The estimated number of inquiries for handgun purchases during the year was

67% of the total number of firearm inquiries to the NCIC (3,842,000). To

estimate the number of inquiries for

handgun purchase applications before

1996, the ATF estimates were multiplied by 67%. 

In the last 9 months of 1994 there

were an estimated 2,483,000 inquiries

for handgun purchases and an estimated 62,000 rejections. In 1995 the

estimated number of inquiries was

2,706,000, with an estimated 41,000

rejections.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms estimates of inquiries and 

rejections, March 1, 1994, to December 31, 1995

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms estimates  may include handguns, long guns, and carry permitsa

3/1/94 to 12/31/94 1/1/95 to 12/31/95

All 

States

Original

Brady 

Statesb All 

States

Original

Brady 

Statesb

Inquiries and rejections 

Inquiries/applications 3,679,000 1,696,000 4,009,000 1,884,000

Rejected 92,000 42,000 60,000 28,000

Rejection rate 2.5% 2.5% 1.5% 1.5%

Reasons for rejection

Felony

indictment/conviction

65,000 30,000 43,000 20,000

Other 26,000 12,000 17,000 8,000

Note: All estimated counts are rounded. Percentages were calculated 

from unrounded data. Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

a

Data for 1994 and 1995 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

are based on inquiries to the FBI's National Crime Information Center.

b

Original Brady States are the 32 States required to follow presale review

procedures set out in the Brady Act when it became effective on February

28, 1994.

Estimated number of handgun inquiries (applications to purchase) 

and rejections, March 1, 1994, to December 31, 1996

3/1/94 -

12/31/94

1/1/95 -

12/31/95

1/1/96 -

12/31/96

Estimated number of handgun inquiries 2,483,000 2,706,000 2,593,000

Estimated number of rejections 62,000 41,000 70,000

Rejection rate 2.5% 1.5% 2.7%
Under the FBI's proposed NICS configuration, State criminal history records will be provided in the majority of

cases through each State's central repository and the Interstate Identification Index (III). The index, maintained

by the FBI, points instantly to criminal

records that States hold. In addition,

the FBI will provide records of Federal

offenses, Federally maintained State

data, and Federal data on nonfelony

disqualifications. States responding to

NICS inquiries for nonfelony prohibitions will provide their records directly.

Federal firearms licensees in States

that do not serve as a point of contact

to the system will make inquiries directly to NICS.

The National Criminal History 

Improvement Program (NCHIP)

To ensure immediate availability of

complete and accurate State records,

the Brady Act established a grant program authorized at $200 million. An

additional authorization of $20 million

was made available through the National Child Protection Act of 1993

(Pub. L. No. 103-209, 107 Stat. 2490

(1993)). Both authorizations were designed to assist States to develop or

improve existing criminal history records systems and to establish an interface with the NICS. 

Over $112 million was given in direct

awards to the States during fiscal

years 1995 and 1996. The appropriation for 1997 is $50 million. NCHIP

funds have supported direct technical

assistance to States, evaluation, and

research related to improving criminal

and other nonfelony records within the

States.

The FIST program was established under NCHIP. Information requested for

the initial survey does not include data

traceable to an applicant, and the computer program that was subsequently

developed and used by some agencies

for both operational purchases and to

collect FIST data transmits only the appropriately aggregated or categorized

responses. None of the FIST information provided from agencies to BJS

contains or reveals the identity of individual applicants. Moreover, the computer program also assists agencies to

purge records after the delay times

specified by law.

Methodology

The following presents the approach

used to derive the 1996 estimates from

a sample of chief law enforcement officers charged with determining eligibility

to purchase a handgun. The data were

stratified by size of the population

served. Information collected included:

handgun applications made to the 

CLEO; 

handgun applications rejected by the

CLEO; and 

the reasons for rejection. 

Sample Design

The sample for the survey was selected from a population of 5,400

CLEOs. These CLEOs ranged from

State agencies which served an entire

State population (category X); local

CLEOs which served a population

greater than 100,000 (category C); local CLEOs which served a population

between 10,000 and 100,000 (category

B); and local CLEOs which served a

population of less than 10,000 (category A). Population size was based on

1990 Census information. The population categories were chosen to be consistent with those commonly used by

the FBI when conducting similar 

studies. A total of 600 CLEOs were

randomly selected for inclusion in the

study.

Since the start of this study two States

have implemented operation of statewide CLEOs, and one State has begun

reporting data for local jurisdictions.

These changes have reduced the total

number of CLEOs selected to 579.

The sample universe includes all 25

statewide CLEOs (category X), all 118

CLEOs who service populations in excess of 100,000 persons (category C),

189 CLEOs from category B, and 247

from category A. For each State 4% 

or a minimum of five CLEOs were selected in their respective A and B categories.

Overall, 311 CLEOs provided data for

a response rate of 54%. Respondents

included 21 statewide CLEOs, 2 agencies providing statewide totals (see below), 49 local CLEOs in category C, 95

local CLEOs in category B, and 144 local CLEOs in category A. The 311

agencies that submitted data serviced

160,198,309 people or 65% of the

248,102,973 people who were identified in the 1990 Census.

Based on data provided by these

CLEOs, national estimates were developed using weighting factors derived

from the original stratification. When a

CLEO did not provide data for all

months, a simple linear extrapolation

was used to generate a 12-month total.

Information for two States required further analysis. Oregon switched from

local CLEOs to a statewide CLEO during 1996. Estimates for the year for

number of applications and number of

rejections were based on the data from

the newly established statewide CLEO.

New Jersey provided data on the 

number of applications and the number

of rejections for the whole State, but

did not provide reasons for rejections.

Local CLEOs that had been sampled in

Oregon and New Jersey provided data

on the reasons for rejection.

For purposes of applications, rejections

and rejection rates, information from

the statewide CLEOs was used. The

descriptive information about reasons

for rejections used the data from both

the local and State CLEOs.

Maine is one of several States that use

both local CLEOs and the State police

in areas not serviced by a local CLEO.

In the other States' data from the State

police were classified as category A

data because of the rural area that is

normally being served. However,

Maine, because of the large portion of

the State that the State police service

(40%) and the wide range of population

classifications they serve, State police

 Presale Handgun Checks, 1996 5
data were classified as category X

data.

Definition of outliers

Five agencies with a rejection rate over

four standard deviations above the total standard rejection rate were classified as outliers and their data were not

used for projection of estimates. In addition, one agency was classified as an

outlier because it had changed its record keeping procedures during the

year and its final rejection rate could

not be determined with sufficient accuracy. The data provided by the outliers

were added to the total estimated

counts to get the final national totals.

Accuracy of the estimates

The accuracy of the estimates presented in this report depends on two

types of errors: non-sampling and sampling. In this study, nonsampling error

may be occur from the following: nonresponse; differences in the ways

CLEOs process, code, store and retrieve their information; differences in

interpretation of the survey questions;

and even activities which delay personnel from doing paperwork.

Also, the process of a researcher receiving data and storing it in the computer for analysis can introduce

non-sampling error. In any sample

survey, the full extent of non-sampling

error is never fully known. However,

steps were taken to minimize the potential for error. Extensive telephone

follow-ups were made to encourage responses, answer questions about misunderstood requests, and generally

help CLEOs in assembling the information in a form useable by FIST. Extensive verification of the data ensured the

accuracy of the numbers.

All confidence intervals discussed in

this report were set at a 95-percent

confidence level. Because of the sampling design, State comparisons cannot

be made. The estimates are only for

the 50 States and do not include U.S.

territories or the District of Columbia.

Sales of all firearms are prohibited in

the District of Columbia except to law

enforcement officers.

Data collection procedures

The Regional Justice Information Service (REJIS), through a cooperative

agreement with BJS under the Firearms Inquiries Statistics program

(FIST), collected the data. 

The CLEOs supplied data on either paper or diskette. Several different forms

were provided to meet the varying office procedures of the CLEOs. In addition REJIS wrote and provided special

software that was distributed free of

charge to requesting CLEOs. This

software was designed to simplify the

record tabulating functions of the

CLEO. It also helped to reduce the

burden of keeping the statistical data

since one of the capabilities of the software was to automatically collect the

data needed for the study. In all cases

the data that the CLEO sent to REJIS

contained only statistical information

and would not allow the identification 

of an individual.

6 Presale Handgun Checks, 1996

The Bureau of Justice Statistics 

is the statistical agency of the 

U.S. Department of Justice. 

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D., is Director.

BJS Bulletins present the first 

release of findings from permanent

data collection programs such as the

Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) program. State and local officials have

cooperated in reporting the data 

presented.

Don Manson, BJS Program Manager, and Darrell K. Gilliard, BJS

Statistician, wrote this Bulletin under

the supervision of Carol Kaplan,

Chief, National Criminal History Improvement Programs, BJS. Gene

Lauver, manager of the FIST program, Regional Justice Information

Service (REJIS of St. Louis, MO),

collected and analyzed the data presented. Terry Tomazic, Ph.D., professor of research methodology at

St. Louis University, provided statistical consultation. Tom Hester produced and edited the report. Marilyn

Marbrook, assisted by Yvonne Boston and Jayne Robinson, administered final report production.

Further information on the FIST 

program may be obtained from:

Carol G. Kaplan, Chief 

Criminal History Improvement 

Programs

U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Washington, DC 20531

Gene Lauver, Project Manager

Regional Justice Information Service

4255 West Pine Blvd.

St. Louis, MO 63108. 

September 1997, NCJ-165704

This report and others from the 

Bureau of Justice Statistics 

are available through the Internet 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/