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According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, the use of guns in crime rose significantly from 1985 to 1993. However, since implementation of the Brady Law in February 1994, there has been a significant drop in the percentage of violent crimes committed with a firearm. According to a report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 242,000 prohibited purchasers have been prevented from taking possession of a handgun since the implementation of the Brady Law because of background checks.

Analysis of the FBI data provides more compelling evidence that the Brady Law is working. The significant drop in the percentage of violent crimes committed with a firearm shows that, since all 50 states began doing the background checks in 1994, the Brady Law is working to make American safer from violent crime.

Compared to 1994, criminals in 1997 were less likely to use a firearm in the commission of a crime. Overall, the number of all violent crimes since 1994 has fallen 14 percent (1,860,000 to 1,600,000). The number of violent crimes committed with a firearm since 1994 has fallen 25 percent (576,000 to 432,000). The total number of all aggravated assaults since 1994 has fallen by 8.5 percent (1,113,179 to 1,019,000). The number of aggravated assaults with a firearm since 1994 has fallen by 23.7 percent (267,163 to 203,800). A similar trend can be seen for robberies and murders. The number of all robberies since 1994 has fallen by 19.5 percent (618,949 to 497,950). The number of robberies committed with a firearm since 1994 has fallen by 22.6 percent (257,483 to 199,180).

Additionally, the number of all murders since 1994 has fallen 17.5 percent (22,084 to 18,209). The number of murders committed with a firearm since 1994 has fallen approximately 18 percent (15,463 to 12,746).

Since the Brady Law was implemented in early 1994 through the end of 1997, the overall proportion of aggravated assaults involving a firearm has fallen by 20.3 percent (25.1 percent to 20.0 percent). Additionally, the proportion of robberies committed with a firearm has fallen by 5.7 percent (42.4 percent to 40 percent). Firearms continue to be used in approximately 70 percent of reported murders, but, as the above numbers demonstrate, the overall number of murders has dropped dramatically.

The decrease in the use of firearms during robberies and aggravated assaults may help explain the overall decline in the murder rate. Injuries from firearms are more often lethal than injuries from other weapons; therefore, if fewer crimes are being committed with firearms, there would be fewer robbery- and assault-related murders.

Some of this progress may be reversed after Nov. 30, 1998, when the Brady Law's mandatory five-day waiting period expires, and is replaced with the National Instant Check System. Although the new system will conduct background checks on all long gun purchasers who buy from licensed gun dealers, not just handgun purchasers, it will also allow purchasers to buy guns instantaneously. Under the instant check system, many state and local officials will no longer participate in the background check process. As a result, some important state and local records will go unchecked, such as domestic violence misdemeanors, court restraining orders, minor drug offenses, outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrants, and some mental health records, among others. Additionally, there will no longer be a cooling-off period for people who buy guns to commit crimes of passion or suicide. The weakened background check and lack of a cooling-off period may allow some prohibited purchasers to elude background checks and may lead to an increase in gun crimes.

The Brady Law is a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases which serves as a cooling off period and allows time for local officials to conduct a thorough background check on gun purchasers.

------ The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, chaired by Sarah Brady, was founded in 1983 to reduce gun violence through education, legal advocacy, research, and outreach to the entertainment community.

Based in Washington, D.C., CPHV's national initiatives include prevention programs for parents and youth on the risks associated with guns, legal representation for gun violence victims, work with the entertainment community to encourage deglamorization of guns in the media, and research of the risks associated with guns and the efficacy of gun control laws.

More information about CPHV and its affiliated organization, Handgun Control Inc., can be found on the website at www.cphv.org.

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