Georgia Crime Information Center

ANNUAL REPORT - CALENDAR YEAR 1999

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 new federal databases, the Georgia Firearms Program checks the following databases:

Georgia Criminal Histories, including 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 212,647 telephone calls from federally licensed firearm dealers through the State of Georgia during 1999. The Firearms Program processed 252,807 firearms instant background checks as a result of the telephone calls received and the electronic inquiries via point of sale terminals.

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. VeriFAX processed 93,958 or 37% of the transactions through its system during 1999. VeriFAX was paid a total of $239,080.40 or approximately $2.54 per transaction processed. This saves the Firearms Program over $5.00 per transaction.

The instant background checks resulted in 238,289 or 94% of the checks being approved for the sale of a firearm. A total of 14,439 or 6% of the checks resulted in a denial of the sale. Of the total approvals, 140,595 or 59% 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 1999.

Total Calls Answered	212,647
Total Firearms Transactions	252,807
Handgun Transactions       Long gun Transactions       Dual Transactions*	108,873 140,657 3,277
Total Transactions Approved	238,289
Handguns Approved       Long guns Approved       Dual Transactions Approved	101,776 133,402 3,111
Total Transactions Denied	14,439
Handguns Denied       Long guns Denied       Dual Transactions Denied	7,084 7,189 166

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

Reason for Denial

The Firearms Program collected a total of $822,195.00 in instant background check fees from firearm dealers during 1999. 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 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 Firearms Program staff works with those individuals who have been denied by researching the information that resulted in the denial. Every attempt possible is made to obtain any missing record information and to update the affected record promptly.

1999 Total Firearms Transactions

Firearms Transactions by Type

Total Telephone Calls vs. Total VeriFAX Transactions

Firearms Approvals vs. Non-Approvals

Reasons For Denial

Form for Appealing A Firearm Transfer Denial