Earlier this year, a man with an outstanding criminal warrant lied on a background check form in an attempt to buy a firearm at a gun shop in the small town of Pittston, Pennsylvania. What happened next is very rare in the U.S.: The man was arrested before he left the store.
Submitting false information on a background check is a felony under federal law, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. But as many as 160,000 people are denied a gun purchase each year because they failed a check. Few are ever apprehended, much less prosecuted. Available federal and state data suggest that the percentage of arrests as a proportion of denied sales is extremely low — likely in the single digits.
Pennsylvania is one of eight states where lawmakers and police have sought to boost arrests and prosecutions by passing laws and implementing so-called “lie and try” policies requiring local law enforcement agencies to be notified whenever someone fails a background check. The goal is to give police a tool they can use to arrest dangerous individuals before they can secure a gun and possibly harm someone. In 32 states, a person who is blocked from buying a firearm at a licensed dealer can turn to a private seller who is not required to run a background check. One 2009 study found a strong proclivity towards further illegal behavior by denied gun purchasers, determining that a third of convicted criminals rejected when attempting to buy a gun are caught breaking another law during the next five years.
In early April, Tennessee became the latest state to enact a “lie and try” law or policy, joining Pennsylvania, California, Colorado, Illinois, Utah, Oregon, and Virginia in doing so. The states currently considering similar measures include Maryland, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New Hampshire.
https://www.thetrace.org/2016/05/lie-and-try-policy-failed-gun-background-checks/
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