GOA and GOF Sue DOJ Over Cornyn-Murphy Waiting Period for Adults Under 21

By Walter Smoloski

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

May 12, 2023 

Washington, D.C. — Today, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas, challenging the Department of Justice’s de facto waiting periods for NICS background checks on adults who are not yet 21.  

This new policy is a result of the Cornyn-Murphy gun control package passed last summer, which now imposes unconstitutional waiting periods on young adults. A NICS background check for these individuals now requires a review of juvenile justice records, state mental health records, and those from local law enforcement where the buyer resides. This review is in addition to those records already held by the FBI NICS System, and because those state and local agencies are not equipped or prepared to provide this information in a timely manner, young gun buyers are simply forced to wait with no recourse, which is a clear violation of their Second Amendment rights. 

Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President, issued the following statement:    

“GOA repeatedly warned legislators and the public how this would grossly violate young Americans’ Constitutional rights, and yet Texas Senator John Cornyn compromised away those rights anyway. Now we see young adults frequently and routinely

Source: Gun Owners of America