The Texas Church Shooter Should Have Been Legally Barred From Owning Guns : The Two
Devin Patrick Kelley
The Air Force says a mistake allowed  Devin Patrick Kelley  to buy guns. On  Sunday Kelley  opened fire on a small church in Sutherland Springs  Texas.
"Initial information indicates that  Kelley 's domestic violence offense was not entered into the National Criminal Information Center database by the Holloman Air Force Base Office of Special Investigations " said Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek in an email.
 Kelley  purchased four guns over a four-year period beginning in 2014  according to federal officials; all those purchases were made after  his  court-martial conviction and discharge.
"This was mishandled by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico  where  Kelley  was serving when he was arrested " Tom reports. "An investigation is now underway  and the Air Force is taking it very seriously  said the source."
Retired Col. Don Christensen  who was the chief prosecutor for the Air Force at the time of  Kelley 's general court-martial  tells NPR that the case was serious.
 Kelley  accepted a deal  pleading guilty to a charge of assault on  his  wife and to a charge of "intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm" on the child  Christensen says. His crimes were punishable by up to five years confinement (the military equivalent of a prison term). As part of the deal   Kelley  received an 18-month cap on his confinement and was ultimately sentenced to 12 months.
 Kelley 's punitive discharge â a bad conduct discharge â did not prohibit him from owning a gun  as a dishonorable discharge would have.
 Kelley 's conviction qualified under both categories  Christensen says.
NPR's Martin Kaste reports that Academy Sports & Outdoors  a store that sold  Kelley  guns  says it ran a background check on  Kelley  twice in the past two years.  Kelley  passed each time   the company  says.
If  Kelley 's convictions were never uploaded into the system  that could easily explain how  he  passed. But even if they had been uploaded  there might still have been trouble getting information into the right hands â there's a sort of language barrier between military and civilian justice systems  Christensen says  with different terms for the same kinds of crimes. If the military described a general court-martial for assault  with a sentence of one year  the civilian authorities might "never realize" it was a domestic violence conviction punishable by five years  he says.
In general  there are some "gaping holes" in the current background check system  as NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reported last year  which can allow people who should fail background checks to buy guns anyway. And if  Kelley  had purchased a gun from a private seller  he wouldn't have had to pass a background check at all  Martin notes.
Meanwhile  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says  Kelley  applied for a license to carry a gun and was rejected  Martin reports. He notes that Texas requires a background check but also has additional training and tests that  Kelley  may not have completed.
The Air Force says a mistake allowed   [TGT] to buy guns. On  Sunday  [TGT] opened fire on a small church in Sutherland Springs  Texas.
"Initial information indicates that   [TGT]  's domestic violence offense was not entered into the National Criminal Information Center database by the Holloman Air Force Base Office of Special Investigations " said Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek in an email.
  [TGT] purchased four guns over a four-year period beginning in 2014  according to federal officials; all those purchases were made after   [TGT]   court-martial conviction and discharge.
"This was mishandled by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico  where   [TGT] was serving when he was arrested " Tom reports. "An investigation is now underway  and the Air Force is taking it very seriously  said the source."
Retired Col. Don Christensen  who was the chief prosecutor for the Air Force at the time of  Kelley 's general court-martial  tells NPR that the case was serious.
  [TGT] accepted a deal  pleading guilty to a charge of assault on   [TGT]   wife and to a charge of "intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm" on the child  Christensen says. His crimes were punishable by up to five years confinement (the military equivalent of a prison term). As part of the deal    [TGT] received an 18-month cap on his confinement and was ultimately sentenced to 12 months.
  [TGT]  's punitive discharge â a bad conduct discharge â did not prohibit him from owning a gun  as a dishonorable discharge would have.
  [TGT]  's conviction qualified under both categories  Christensen says.
NPR's Martin Kaste reports that Academy Sports & Outdoors  a store that sold   [TGT]   guns  says it ran a background check on  Kelley  twice in the past two years.   [TGT] passed each time   the company  says.
If   [TGT]  's convictions were never uploaded into the system  that could easily explain how   [TGT]   passed. But even if they had been uploaded  there might still have been trouble getting information into the right hands â there's a sort of language barrier between military and civilian justice systems  Christensen says  with different terms for the same kinds of crimes. If the military described a general court-martial for assault  with a sentence of one year  the civilian authorities might "never realize" it was a domestic violence conviction punishable by five years  he says.
In general  there are some "gaping holes" in the current background check system  as NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reported last year  which can allow people who should fail background checks to buy guns anyway. And if   [TGT] had purchased a gun from a private seller   [TGT]  wouldn't have had to pass a background check at all  Martin notes.
Meanwhile  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says   [TGT] applied for a license to carry a gun and was rejected  Martin reports. He notes that Texas requires a background check but also has additional training and tests that   [TGT] may not have completed.