CNBC 9/14/2019
The White House and Capitol Hill are considering a phone app connected to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System as one of the options in their discussions for plans to reduce gun violence, according to a Senate source and a person familiar with the talks.
The proposed app would be used for background checks during private sales and not for purchases involving commercial dealers, one of the sources told CNN. The Washington Post first reported on the app.
Gun rights and privacy advocates have voiced concerns about an app like the one proposed, saying it could become a de facto registry and worry about how secure the information would be.
Here are some of the options being proposed in discussions, in addition to measures Trump and his aides have floated publicly:
Allowing minors' records to be included in background check databases
Alerting local authorities when someone fails a background check
Applying bigger penalties for straw purchases when someone buys a gun for someone else
Instituting a ban on gun purchases for people on terror watch lists
Increasing the penalty for people who lie on background check forms
Helping states implement "red flag" laws, which would remove weapons from people deemed at risk
Adding additional government records to an existing background check database
Improving mental health services
Expediting the death penalty for convicted mass shooters
More:
https://www.wjcl.com/article/white-house-considering-phone-app-for-background-checks-as-part-of-gun-control-proposals-1/29050478