Press Release
Press Release
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Olivia Thomas
12.26.17
After the Air Force failed to provide records that should have prevented the perpetrator of the mass shooting in a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, from buying a gun, three cities today filed a lawsuit to prevent that from ever happening again. The cities are represented by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, which worked with Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to develop the case. The action seeks to compel the Department of Defense, the Air Force, the Navy and the Army to fulfill their long-standing legal obligation to report all service members disqualified from purchasing and possessing firearms to the FBI’s national background check system.
In the complaint, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco, each of which regularly rely upon the integrity of the FBI’s background check system, seek federal court oversight of the Department of Defense and military branches, to ensure that they consistently submit to the FBI all records of service members with disqualifying convictions or dishonorable discharges. Those convictions and discharges should prevent current or former service members from legally buying or possessing firearms.
On November 5th, a gunman with a history of domestic violence, entered the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and killed 26 churchgoers, injuring 20 others. It was later revealed the gunman had been court-martialed for two counts of domestic violence, and had received a Bad Conduct Discharge from the Air Force, after assaulting his first wife and cracking the skull of his baby stepson. That prior conviction should have disqualified him from ever buying or possessing any guns. But, because the Air Force never entered that information into the FBI database for background checks on gun purchasers, he was still able to pass a background check and buy the assault rifle used in the Texas church shooting.
“Our three-city coalition will right this two-decade wrong,” said Pillsbury partner Ken Taber, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “The Executive Branch and Congress have both had their chances to repair this clearly broken system. Now, after twenty years of failure, it’s time for the Courts to step in,” Taber said.
The DoD has a well-documented, two-decade long history of failing to report disqualifying records to the FBI. Earlier this month the DoD Inspector General reported that the Air Force failed to submit records in approximately 14 percent of its cases, the Navy failed to submit records in approximately 36 percent of its cases, the Army failed to submit records in approximately 41 percent of its cases, and the Marines Corps failed to submit records in approximately 36 percent of its cases. Just two weeks ago, the DoD Acting Inspector General testified to Congress that these problems persisted because DoD simply “didn’t take [his office’s] recommendations as seriously as they should have.” The Inspector General’s Office has been documenting these reporting failures since 1997.
The lawsuit filed today seeks an injunction, and judicial oversight, to ensure that DoD consistently meets its legal obligation to submit records to the FBI for inclusion in the background check system. Under the judicial order requested, the DoD and its branches would be compelled to ensure current and past disqualifying records are filed to the background check system, something already required by law. DoD would also be required to report back to the Court regularly on its compliance efforts.