Local Enforcement of Brady Gun Law Upheld by Court

A federal appeals court upheld the Brady gun law Friday, saying the federal government can require local law enforcement agencies to check the records of prospective handgun buyers.

The 2-1 ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned decisions by federal judges in Montana and Arizona declaring part of the law unconstitutional. Judges in three other states have issued similar rulings against the law.

The Brady law, which took effect in March, 1994, requires a five-day waiting period before the sale of a handgun. During the wait, local authorities are supposed to determine whether the buyer has a felony record, a history of mental illness or drug use, or other problems that would make the sale illegal.

Two sheriffs in Montana and Arizona, backed by the National Rifle Assn., sued to overturn the law. They argued that requiring a records check violates the Constitution’s 10th Amendment, which protects state and local governments from certain types of federal interference.

But the appeals court said the law’s requirement--that law enforcement agencies make a “reasonable effort” to determine the legality of a handgun purchase--was a minor burden the federal government could impose on state and local officers.

The sheriffs are “directed to serve for a temporary period as law enforcement functionaries in carrying out a federal program,” said the opinion by Judge William Canby. “Their activities are not alien to their usual line of work and represent a minimal interference with state functions.”

The court said the rules are no more difficult to follow than, for example, federal laws that require the local officials to report missing children or traffic fatalities.

Judge Herbert Choy agreed. In dissent, Judge Ferdinand Fernandez said the records check requirement violated state sovereignty because it calls on states to “commit their resources to the carrying out of this kind of federal policy, whether they like it or not.”