LAS VEGAS—With the Biden administration touting a revival of the 1990s-era “assault weapons” ban and encouraging states to tighten gun-control regulations, the firearms industry and gun-owners’ rights advocates—with notable exceptions—say Congress and state lawmakers should instead focus on keeping weapons out of criminals’ hands and on boosting mental health programs.
For more than a decade, rather than imposing new laws that could ensnarl 75 million law-abiding American gun-owners in confusing red tape, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has spearheaded a “Fix NICS” campaign to address flaws in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)—the primary databank used to varying degrees in all 50 states and territories to conduct background checks for firearms purposes….