A bipartisan group of US senators announced a bill Thursday to improve reporting in the instant background system called the “Fix NICS Act of 2017, in the wake of the Texas mass shooting perpetrated by a person whose violent criminal record should have prevented him from buying guns.
Two Senate sources told CNN on Wednesday that a bipartisan group of senators were likely to introduce legislation to ensure states and the federal government upload required background check information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who has long called for more gun control legislation, appeared to highlight the effort Thursday.
“BREAKING: We’ve just introduced bipartisan legislation to improve the gun background check system. Progress is possible!” she tweeted.
The need for the legislation was highlighted after the recent mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where it was later revealed that the shooter was imprisoned for domestic abuse but the Air Force didn’t convey that information to NICS, which should have prevented him from buying the guns used in the mass shooting.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut are spearheading the legislation.
The bill represents a rare bipartisan agreement in recent years to pass gun legislation in the wake of several of deadliest mass shootings in modern American history.