Background Checks

LAST WEEK'S votes on gun control in the U.S. House of Representatives represent a new low in the politics of cynicism and nullification.Faced with the modest efforts by the U.S. Senate to check the criminal and mental background of gun purchasers at gun shows, the House first weakened the measure and then killed it outright.Symbolically, at least, the House's response to the massacre at Columbine High in Littleton, Colo., turned out to be approval of a measure that allows posting of the Ten Commandments in schools.

Maryland State Police have failed to make expedient background checks as far back as 1995, resulting in recalls of weapons accidentally sold to convicted criminals -- including, recently, an attempted rapist.A 1995 audit of the police agency's criminal background check system commissioned by Del. Cheryl C. Kagan, a Montgomery County Democrat, revealed delays of up to 97 days on some checks for potential gun owners."The state police are frantically trying to recover from an embarrassing mismanagement issue," Kagan said.

State Police Superintendent Col. David B. Mitchell reassigned administrators in charge of licensing yesterday after delays in criminal background checks allowed 54 guns to be purchased by criminals and others ineligible to own handguns.The decision comes in the wake of revelations about a five-month backlog in performing 1,500 background checks required for Marylanders who buy pistols. People convicted of crimes as diverse as attempted rape and simple drug possession were able to get guns.

WASHINGTON -- Facing a rebellion in their ranks, Senate Republicans reversed field yesterday and endorsed a drive to require background checks for all firearms purchases at gun shows.Their sudden change of heart came one day after Republicans helped reject a similar measure.Yesterday, several Republicans told their leaders that that vote created a potential political disaster.They warned of the perils of opposing a popular gun control measure so soon after the Colorado school massacre, which focused attention on the availability of guns.

WASHINGTON -- Resisting the drive for tighter gun controls in the wake of the Colorado shootings, the Senate refused yesterday to require background checks for firearms purchasers at gun shows.Powered largely by its Republican majority, the Senate voted 51-47 to defeat a proposal to impose such mandatory background checks. The measure had the backing of the White House as well as of some gun industry groups, but it was opposed by the politically powerful National Rifle Association."I do not want to impinge on the rights of private citizens," said Sen. Larry E. Craig, an Idaho Republican who was the chief opponent of the measure.

Baltimore police are investigating whether illegally purchased handguns were used in city crimes after state police announced more than 50 guns had found their way into the hands of those ineligible to purchase them.State police fell behind on 1,500 criminal background checks over a five-month period, allowing gun merchants to sell 54 handguns to people who later failed the checks. State police say they have recovered all but five of the weapons.Several gun sellers said yesterday that they had not received results on requested background checks from weeks and months ago.State police, however, said they had resolved the problems and are conducting 300 checks a day."

One of the guns that state police missed when the department fell months behind on criminal background checks was used in a fatal shooting in Prince George's County, the department acknowledged yesterday.The sale of that handgun to a Baltimore woman awaiting trial on felony charges was one of dozens the state police failed to catch when the agency built up a backlog of 1,500 requests to screen gun buyers earlier this year.In those cases, the seven-day waiting period passed without a police-issued "hold order," so merchants were free to turn the guns over to buyers, whether or not background checks were complete.

WASHINGTON -- The law requiring a five-day waiting period to buy a handgun is scheduled to expire in November, and gun-control advocates are girding for a bruising late-summer fight with the National Rifle Association and its supporters in Congress over whether to extend it.The law, part of the Brady bill that Congress approved in 1993, requires gun buyers in many states to wait as long as five working days before taking new handguns home, giving state and...

The new national system of instant background checks for potential firearms purchasers is living up to its name after all.After an ignominious start marred by long delays and a midday shutdown when the system was introduced Nov. 30, Maryland gun dealers say most reviews by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (or NICS) are being completed in a couple of minutes.While some dealers describe the system as intrusive and unnecessary, they have largely muted the anger and frustration they expressed on the first day, when they were unable to make sales of shotguns and rifles because they could not complete the calls needed to make the checks.

THANKS TO new provisions of the 1993 Brady Act, gun shop owners and dealers now can obtain instant information about would-be weapons buyers.The changes make Maryland's strict gun control laws even tougher by extending background checks to include buyers of rifles and shotguns. Similar to instant credit checks at department stores, the provisions, which took effect last week, mandate quick background checks on purchasers.And the inclusion of rifles and shotguns is a welcome aid to crime-fighting efforts.

Man admits role in fatal bank robbery plot ERIE, Pa.: A man admitted in federal court yesterday that he helped plot a bizarre bank robbery that ended when a bomb strapped around a pizza deliveryman's neck exploded and killed him, the first conviction in the five-year-old case. Kenneth Barnes pleaded guilty to conspiracy and a charge of aiding and abetting at a hearing in which prosecutors also revealed new details, based on a statement by Barnes, about deliveryman Brian Wells' involvement in the scheme.

One by one, the e-mails started popping up this week in very important inboxes at very big schools. At Southern California, at Florida, at Texas. At every university that belongs to a Bowl Championship Series conference, in fact. "Our new service is designed to assist clients who understand the consequences of relying on perfunctory certifications of high-profile prospects," it read. Huh? Here's the interpretation: Your school can't properly research a prospective student-athlete's background.

The gun charge lodged against Baltimore youth football coach Aaron McCown came as organizations in Maryland and across the country were adopting new measures to prevent misbehavior by coaches and parents during games. Last fall, the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association began requiring more than a thousand coaches to be licensed. At a minimum, they must complete an 18-hour training course. On Oct. 12, Baltimore's Parks Department announced guidelines under which verbal or physical abuse of officials, coaches or players could lead to lengthy bans.

About 750,000 truckers, longshoremen and others who work at the nation's ports - including about 20,000 at the port of Baltimore - will face background checks and be required to buy identification cards beginning in March, according to long-awaited rules released yesterday by the Transportation Security Administration. The cards were required by Congress more than two years ago to enhance security at ports of entry. But the program proved difficult to implement because of its size and the advanced technology needed at 361 seaports.

The principal of Govans Elementary School in Baltimore will not return to her job after writing a letter urging a federal judge to have leniency on a convicted drug dealer teaching special education, her lawyer and city school system officials said. Principal Edith Jones wrote a letter supporting Martius Harding before he was sentenced last month to seven years in prison. Jones was given the choice of resigning by Aug. 1 or being fired, according to her lawyer, Ron Kowitz. She likely will resign in the next few weeks, he said.

About 600 Anne Arundel County public school employees lack proof of criminal background checks, a personnel records review uncovered, leading schools officials to begin scrambling this week to fingerprint several hundred workers. A mobile fingerprint unit began visiting county schools Monday, said Florence Bozzella, director of human resources for the school system. The goal is to have the problem corrected by Oct. 31. "It ranged from teachers to custodians to -- there were a couple of administrators.

Tip of the week: Employee background checks Pre-employment background checks are a necessary and cost-effective screening tool that may help avoid lawsuits. Amid concerns of workplace violence, employee theft, wrongful discharge and discrimination claims, background checks are gaining in popularity. Pre-employment checks include: criminal background checks, drug tests, credit checks, driving tests, psychological tests, reference checks, etc. Tests should measure the skills and abilities relevant to the particular job the applicant is seeking.

Moving to close a gaping hole in U.S. security, federal officials announced yesterday the launch of a program that could eventually require background checks and identification cards for 6 million truck drivers, dock workers and cargo handlers at U.S. seaports, airports and railways. The new security effort will begin on a trial basis at three dozen sites across the United States. About 200,000 workers at these sites will be required to undergo federal background checks to determine whether they have criminal records or are on any terrorism-related watch lists.

MARYLAND'S CUSTODIAN of children in crisis was wise to quickly step in after a much-needed bill to regulate guardianship failed in the General Assembly. The Department of Human Resources says it will rewrite regulations covering children in its care to require screening of prospective permanent guardians, be they family or friends. The background checks, expected to be much like those in place for prospective foster care parents, will greatly help judges deciding these most important placements.

A month before former Maryland State Police Superintendent Edward T. Norris was indicted by a federal grand jury, the governor's office hired a private investigation firm, spending more than $23,000 for background checks of potential replacements. The search was under way even as Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. expressed public support for Norris and denied that he was looking for possible replacements. A bill submitted to the state by the investigation firm, a copy of which was obtained by The Sun, shows that private detectives conducted an extensive review of candidates.