Paul,
just one minor point of correction, our background check system is far better here in CO using the CBI than most other states using the FBI. Over the last several weeks background checks have been taking between 5 minutes and a couple of hours. I have run two recently that have went right through.
I agree with the point of your post though no disputing that.
Steve
I realize that there is fluctuations in the timeline for the CBI background checks depending on the volume being processed. This is why I worded it as "at times up to two weeks" The system has cleared out and in the case of this shooter, it's looking like he recently acquired this weapon. It is still unclear whether he got the gun through the legal process or not. I guess we'll find this out as time goes on.
To answer some other questions; It's very easy to lie on a background check form as far as mental illness goes. We have medical privacy laws "HIPPA" that protects us from the need to share our personal medical history & prevents doctors from disclosing it as well. So if this shooter had seen a doctor for mental issues "Which is doubtful" his records of it wouldn't have been in the BATF's data base. Another oddity of background checks is the question about drug use including marijuana. Grass is legal in Colorado with pot shops everywhere these days, so it's fairly easy to presume that there's a bunch of gun buyers in Colorado lying on that question as well. The only way you would fail the background check system is if you were convicted of a drug crime and it was in the BATF's system.
