When a ‘Common Sense’ Gun Control Measure Depends on the Fantasy of Competent Government

In a stunning admission, a Los Angeles County Superior Court has revealed that it failed to report hundreds of thousands of criminal case outcomes to the California Department of Justice—including roughly 147,000 felony convictions.

Let that sink in.

For four decades, criminal records simply weren’t entered into the background check system.

• No alerts
• No safeguards
• No accountability

Just a broken government system quietly failing while politicians demanded…more gun control.

A System That Only Works If Everything Goes Right

Here’s the part they don’t want to talk about…the entire background check system depends on perfect data entry, flawless coordination, and bureaucratic competence at every level of government. And as this case proves—that’s a fantasy.

Because when records aren’t reported:

• Felons slip through the cracks
• Background checks return incomplete or inaccurate results
• And the system politicians claim “keeps us safe” simply doesn’t work

Even federal officials admit the system only functions if it receives “complete, accurate, and timely information” from thousands of agencies nationwide. Clearly, that’s not happening.

The History They Don’t Want You to Know

The federal background check system—known as NICS—was created by the Brady Act in 1993 and went live in 1998.

Since then:

• Hundreds of millions of background checks have been run.
• Millions of Americans have been delayed or denied.
• Tthe system still relies on error-prone government databases.

In fact:

• Only about 1% of transactions are denied.
• Many denials are later overturned on appeal.
• Tens of thousands of justified denials occur each year, but only a tiny fraction are ever prosecuted.

So let’s be clear…this system overwhelmingly burdens law-abiding citizens while failing to consistently stop criminals.

The Real Purpose: A Backdoor Gun Registry

But there’s an even bigger problem. Background checks were never just about stopping criminals. They’re the foundation for building a national gun registry.

Every time you purchase a firearm:

• You fill out a federal Form 4473.
• That form is retained and increasingly digitized.
• When gun stores close, those records are sent directly to the ATF where they are scanned and stored.

The result? Hundreds of millions—if not over a billion—firearms transaction records now sit in federal hands. And “universal background checks” make the endgame obvious:

• No background check = no legal transfer
• No legal transfer without paperwork
• No paperwork without a record

That’s not about safety. That’s how you build a registry, one transaction at a time.

“This is exactly what happens when you trust a broken government database to regulate a constitutional right,” said Chris McNutt, President of Texas Gun Rights.

“Nearly 150,000 felony convictions weren’t even reported—and politicians still want people to believe more background checks will fix the problem. The truth is, this system fails at both ends: it misses criminals and blocks law-abiding citizens. That’s unacceptable.”

The Real Lesson

This isn’t just a California problem. It’s a warning. Because every new gun control proposal—from “universal background checks” to expanded federal databases—relies on the same flawed assumption: That government systems are accurate, efficient, and trustworthy.

They’re not. They never have been. And when they fail, it’s not the bureaucrats who pay the price. It’s law-abiding Americans who are denied their rights, delayed for days, or trapped in a system that can’t even keep track of convicted felons.

What Comes Next

The gun confiscation lobby will respond to this failure the same way they always do:

• By demanding more control
• More databases
• More power

Not accountability. Not reform. More control. That’s why Texas Gun Rights is fighting to stop these policies before they expand any further. Because a right that depends on a government database…isn’t a right at all.