New Jersey bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami has something in common with seven of the 9/11 hijackers: he used a Virginia ID to carry out his attack. Despite improved laws, Mr. Rahami managed to secure a state ID and a fishing license, which he used to purchase a firearm in Virginia. A gun he later used to shoot and wound two police officers during his eventual apprehension. As roanoke.com reports, it gets better/worse . . .
All states, including Virginia, require that gun purchasers pass a background check designed to spot any red flag, such as a felony conviction or dishonorable discharge from the military, that forbids a person from buying a gun in the United States.
Rahami’s background includes a guilty plea for violating a domestic violence restraining order in New Jersey in 2012 and an allegation that he stabbed a brother in New Jersey in 2014, according to New Jersey court records. On the latter matter, a grand jury declined to indict Rahami, the records said.
Federal law bars anyone convicted of domestic violence from buying a gun, but a search of Rahami’s records showed no such conviction.
Rahami passed the federal background check [a.k.a., NICS] instantly, state police said.
The NSSF and NRA contend that we need to “Fix NICS” before expanding it — their go-to argument against federally mandated “universal background checks.” While politically palatable, you can’t fix what never worked in the first place. As Mr. Rahami’s case, and so many others, proves.