The National Rifle Association's political activism division has refuted the conclusions of a new General Accounting Office report that documented how undercover investigators were able to purchase firearms using phony identification. Rather, those states simply relied on the federal NICS system to determine a prospective buyer's criminal history. Waxman and McCarthy have used the GAO investigation to claim that the NICS system is in need of strengthening. Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., a former federal prosecutor and an NRA board member, said he was not surprised by the GAO's findings.
Fake IDs are a national problem that allow criminals to evade all sorts of legal barriers.
The NRA, in an e-mail alert published the same day, echoed Barr's statements, adding that officials with the gun rights group pointed out inequities surrounding identification verification in the late 1980s. Some gun-rights supporters, however, were not impressed with the NRA's proposed solutions. Some states are working to improve their identification systems, and have moved to address ID fraud with measures that confirm identity and residence before issuing IDs. Other measures, such as duplicate photos on the license, are effective in preventing tampering after issuance. Privacy rights advocates are against such identification measures because they fear that eventually such a concept will be taken nationwide and that the federal government will eventually mandate national ID cards.