Georgia Crime Information Center

INSTANT BACKGROUND CHECK

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Firearms Program was implemented by the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) on January 1, 1996, pursuant to O.C.G.A. 16-11-170 et. seq. This program provides instant background checks on persons wishing to purchase firearms, including handguns and long guns, from federally-licensed firearms dealers pursuant to Georgia law and the provisions of the federal "Brady Act". This background check is to ensure that persons prohibited by either state or federal laws are barred from purchasing firearms.

ANNUAL REPORT - CALENDAR YEAR 2000

The Georgia Firearms Program provides instant background checks on persons wishing to purchase firearms, including handguns and long guns, from federally licensed firearm dealers pursuant to Georgia law and the provisions of the federal "Brady Act".  This background check is to ensure that persons prohibited by either state or federal laws are barred from purchasing a firearm.

The Firearms Program's Call Center is operational from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.  Sunday hours are 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  The Call Center is closed on Christmas Day.

On November 30, 1998, the final (permanent) provisions of the federal "Brady Act" went into effect.  These provisions require an instant background check on persons wishing to purchase long guns (rifles/shotguns) as well as handguns.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) established the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) as required by the final provisions the "Brady Act".  The NICS system made available federal databases from the Department of Defense, Immigration and Naturalization, Secret Service, Veterans Administration, Department of Transportation, and the U.S. State Department which contain information on persons prohibited from possessing firearms as a result of the following prohibitions:

Dishonorable Discharge from Military Service and Coast Guard
Illegal/Unlawful Alien
Secret Service Protective File
Mental Health and Controlled Substance Abuse
Persons Who Renounce Their Citizenship

In addition to the federal databases, the Georgia Firearms Program checks the following databases:

Georgia Criminal Histories, including Misdemeanor Family Violence Convictions
FBI Criminal Histories
Georgia Wanted Person Records
FBI Wanted Person Records

NCIC Protection Order Records

Georgia Mental Health - Involuntary Hospitalizations

The Georgia Firearms Program received and processed 213,110 requests for background checks on firearms purchases and transfers from federally licensed firearm dealers throughout the State of Georgia during 2000. The Call Center received 103,388 initial calls for background check inquiries and the remaining 109,722 requests were submitted electronically via point of sale terminals.

Automated License Systems (ALS) (formerly VeriFAX, LLC ) of Nashville, Tennessee provides an on-line instant background check for the large volume firearm dealers by use of a point of sale (POS) terminal installed at the firearm dealers' place of business.  This POS terminal allows the firearm dealer to enter and receive the same information he would receive from a Firearms Program Call Center Operator, without having to call the operator.  This saves the firearms dealer and the Firearms Program both time and expenses.  This service is at no additional cost to the firearm dealer.  The 109,722 electronic Point of Sale requests processed through ALS represented 51% of the total transactions received during 2000.

The instant background checks resulted in 202,584 or 95% of the checks being approved for the sale of a firearm.  A total of 10,526or 5% of the checks resulted in a denial of the sale.  Of the total approvals, 128,271 or 60% were approved instantly.  The remainder required research to determine if any of the databases contained information that would prohibit the firearms sale.

The following is a synopsis of the Firearms Program's activity for 2000.

Sale of multiple firearms to include at least one handgun and one long gun

Reason for Denial

The Firearms Program collected a total of $1,248,920.00 in instant background check fees from firearm dealers during 2000.  This total was remitted to the State General Treasury.  Firearms dealers are billed monthly at the rate of $5.00 for each instant background check performed.  The firearm dealer charges this fee to the prospective purchaser.  The estimated cost for administering the research and completion of records to determine the eligibility of the purchaser is $586,000.00.

The Firearms Program has not received any court orders to amend either criminal history or involuntary hospitalization records resulting from a person being denied a firearm. The GBI provides resources dedicated to pursuing incomplete information in Georgia criminal history records as necessary to determine the eligibility of the potential buyer to purchase a handgun.  In addition, all requests for record amendments submitted by purchasers were completed.

During 2000, seven of the felony warrants identified during the background check process resulted in arrests by local law enforcement officials after notification by the Firearms Program.  Felony warrants included felony offenses for forgery, theft,  fraud,  transporting of alcoholic beverages, weapons offense and deposit account fraud.  Notification of an additional non-felony warrant for Simple Battery also resulted in an arrest.

2000 Total Firearms Transactions

Firearms Transactions by Type

Total Telephone Calls vs. Total Point of Sale Transactions

Firearms Approvals vs. Non-Approvals

Reasons For Non-Approvals

Form for Appealing A Firearm Transfer Denial

The Annual Reports and statistics for years 1996 through 1999 are also available. Choose the year you would like to view from the list below.

1999 Annual Report and Statistics

1998 Annual Report and Statistics

1997 Annual Report and Statistics

1996 Annual Report and Statistics