Printz v. United States - The Brady Bill--does It Really Fight Crime?

The Brady Handgun Control Act provides gun-control measures such as the establishment of a five-day waiting period for purchase of a firearm. The law's passage in 1993 highlighted the continuing controversy over gun control. In 1996, President Bill Clinton called for measures to tighten Brady Bill restrictions with regard to persons convicted of misdemeanors in domestic abuse cases. According to Bob Walker of Handgun Control Inc., Clinton's new measures would "close a real loophole in the law" and keep a "significant number of defendants who plea-bargain felonies down to misdemeanors" from easily purchasing guns. Tanya Metaksa of the National Rifle Association (NRA) criticized the new restrictions as "feel-good legislation that won't work." Metaksa suggested that punishing abusers by preventing them from buying guns would not curb violence, since domestic abuse most often does not involve firearms. A headline in US News noted that at least both sides agree on one thing: the law will not prevent most criminals from obtaining handguns.