Third in a Four Part Series on

Gun Violence, Gun Laws and

Our State’s Commitment to Protect Its Citizens

By: Mary Katherine Spencer

S.A.F.E., Inc. Community Educator

Here is a quick quiz to see if you know the laws that regulate firearms in the state of Mississippi.

Ready?

Question 1: Background checks are required before purchasing a firearm at a gun show.

Question 2: An employer may force an employee to keep their gun off privately held business property.

Question 3: Unlicensed dealers cannot sell a gun to a juvenile.

Question 4: You must have a license and training before owning a handgun.

Question 5: There are restrictions on the number of handguns you can buy at one time.

Question 6: You must report a lost or stolen handgun to the police.

Question 7: Mississippi requires that handguns sold must meet basic safety standards.

Question 8: A citizen may not use deadly force as first resort in public.

Question 9: A person with a Mississippi domestic violence charge against them will have this information come up on a background check before buying a gun.

Question 10: A person with a Mississippi  protective order in place against them will have this information come up on background check before buying a gun.

Start out with ten points and deduct one point for each question if you answered “true”.

If you still have eight points at the end you’ve passed.

How did you do? Are you surprised?

The truth is that there is almost no regulation of the sales of guns in Mississippi and that our state currently does not contribute information to the national database that would help a licensed firearms dealer screen criminals before a purchase. Anyone can buy a gun from an unlicensed dealer without having a background check done at all. That goes for the many domestic violence offenders sentenced in our state and those who have orders of protection in place intended to keep them from harming their victims. Unlike a simple quiz on paper, these are the laws that shape events that happen every day in our state.

The goods news is that by February of 2009 the Attorney General’s Office of Mississippi Domestic Violence Division intends to implement a program to contribute criminal records to the NICS (National Instant Check System) to help support licensed gun dealers in their efforts to keep guns out of the hands of convicted violent offenders. It will also eventually give law enforcement officers 24 hour access to combined criminal records so that they can better determine the status of someone in their custody and if guns need to be removed from a situation.

With the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision disallowing states and district’s option to restrict gun ownership, it really is the time to help strengthen the system that could help keep firearms out of domestic violence situations. “A credible, comprehensive, up-to-date federal database to provide accurate background checks benefits everyone,” says Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy who recently helped pass an amendment that funds state efforts to contribute to NICS. If you agree,  send an email to the Domestic Violence Division of the Attorney General Office and tell them you support their efforts to get domestic violence offenders into the NICS database.

www.ago.state.ms.us/index.php/contact

For more information on gun laws by state visit www.bradycampaign.org/legislation/state/

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