Washington-- Today, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the Brady law provisions which require a Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) to conduct a background check on prospective handgun purchasers and to accept the form on which that background check is based.

The Court left intact all other provisions of the Brady law. Accordingly:

• Federal firearms licensees are still required to have handgun purchasers complete a Brady form.
• Licensees still are required to notify the CLEO where the purchaser lives of the information contained on the Brady form.
• CLEOs may still voluntarily conduct background checks.
• Licensees still must wait five business days from the date they gave notice of the sale to the CLEO before transferring the handgun unless the licensee is notified sooner by the CLEO, pursuant to a voluntary background check, that the officer has no information that receipt or possession of the handgun by the buyer would violate the law.

This was last updated on August 25, 1998