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 Never mind whether your date is smart or good-looking. How do you know you aren’t flirting with a felon? 
 
 For a small fee, a nascent crop of companies wants to help you find out by running background checks on the potential flames you encounter on Match.com, eHarmony or any of the nation’s nearly 1,500 dating Web sites. 
 
 At the same time, at least two states, New York and New Jersey, have begun regulating Internet dating sites, and legal experts say they believe changes to the liability laws that protect such sites are on the horizon. 
 
 And you thought your mother was the only one who wanted to vet your love life. 
 
 The focus on background screenings comes as some 20 million Americans are using dating sites, more than double the number five years ago, according to the market research firm IBISWorld. While they are finding casual dates and even love, they are also encountering married people pretending to be single or, worse, sexual predators and convicted felons. 
 
 No one has put a number on how much violence stems from dating sites, according to groups that keep track of rape and other violent crimes, like the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Victims of Crime. 
 
 Yet plenty of crime stories begin with two people skimming each other’s online dating profiles. Consider the widely reported case of Jeffrey Marsalis, a serial rapist in Philadelphia who met his victims on Match.com. 
 
 Such perils have been around since the dawn of the Internet, an ideal medium for complex cover-ups. But now that online dating is a billion-dollar industry, state officials, public safety advocates and enterprising businesses are calling for further safeguards. 
 
 Whether it is possible, however, to effectively screen people and make sites more truthful is unclear. After all, members are not always honest about their age and weight. 
 
 “What we want to do is provide some degree of safety,” said Robert Buchholz, a retired New York State Police captain who, with Andrew J. Scott, a former police chief in Boca Raton, Fla., founded MyMatchChecker.com, a Web site that went live in April, enabling people to request background checks on anyone they have met on a dating site. 
 
 Mr. Buchholz and Mr. Scott, who each have more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, said that having daughters inspired them to try to make online dating safer. Their company offers a basic background search for $9.95. 
 
 In addition to Web sites, a flurry of mobile phone apps aim to make background checks as quick and easy as ordering a pizza: Just plug in a couple of facts like a name and birth date. ValiMate, the creator of the Instant National Criminal Search app, even allows users to send the results of the check to a friend for added safety. 
 
 Date Check, from Intelius, encourages users to “look up before you hook up.” The app is marketed to women who want to perform a background check on would-be Romeos “in the time it takes to redo your lip gloss.” (Industry professionals say that predators are usually men.) 
 
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 State officials are also pushing for safer Internet dating. A law that takes effect this month in New York State, the Internet Dating Safety Act, requires sites to post common-sense safety tips, like “meet in a public place.” 
 
 Assemblywoman Audrey I. Pheffer, a sponsor of the Internet law, said that it grew out of her realization that online dating had become ubiquitous, even among people she “never dreamed” would pursue romance online. 
 
 Some states have considered similar legislation but ultimately rejected it. New York’s law is like one passed in 2008 by New Jersey, which also requires dating sites with a membership fee to inform users whether they do criminal background checks (most do not). 
 
 Such legislation was championed by True.com, one of the first major online dating companies to screen members to determine if they are married, felons or sexual offenders (about 2 percent of those who try to sign up are rejected, they said). Ruben Buell, the company’s president, said that the type of checks it conducted were inexpensive. “You’re talking pennies per check.” 
 
 Still, most online dating companies question whether such checks can be effective. They contend that because state and county databases are incomplete, the checks give daters a false sense of security. Even advocates of criminal screenings concede that they are imperfect because the databases vary in quality and availability. Some counties, for instance, do not keep digital records. Others do not provide data about sex offenders. 
 
 “If I really knew that there was great ability for us to not let anyone on the site that shouldn’t be on the site, I would do it,” said Mandy Ginsberg, the general manager and executive vice president of Match.com. Background checks, she said, might lead daters to think everyone they encounter on the sites is safe. (Ms. Pheffer said she originally wanted background checks but decided against them for the same reason.) 
 
 Critics also point out that companies that conduct background screenings are not necessarily perfect. Some have mishandled information. Another concern involves mobile apps, which can provide personal information to people who may abuse it. 
 
 Braden Cox, a policy counsel for NetChoice, a group that advocates for Internet companies, said that background screenings were well intentioned but that most could be thwarted. 
 
 “Most people, thankfully, are good people on these Web sites,” said Mr. Cox, who speaks from experience: a few weeks ago he married a woman he met on Match.com. 
 
 Dating sites have no incentive to police their members. The Communications Decency Act absolves Internet service providers of liability because the sites are not considered the publishers of the information on their pages — their members are. The reasoning is that sites would not be able to operate if they were responsible for everything posted by their users. Lawyers have tried to get around this law, but “they usually fail,” said Brian Carver, an assistant professor at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley. “Every start-up depends on this protection.” 
 
 Parry Aftab, a lawyer and safety expert, says she is increasingly hearing about alarming cases involving online dating, like pedophiles who woo single mothers to get near their children. She expects there will be challenges to that immunity if sites accept money from members and have knowledge of criminal behavior. 
 
 Meanwhile, she advises singles to be cautious. “Don’t give up your heart so fast,” she said. ||||| Everything You Need to Know About Federal Background Checks A step-by-step guide to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which vets anyone who attempts to buy a gun through a federally licensed firearms dealer. 
 
 In the United States, anybody who wants to buy a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL) is subject to a background check. Since 1998, when the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, went online, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has processed more than 273 million of them. 
 
 The overwhelming majority of gun background checks take just minutes to clear the would-be buyer. Only 2 percent result in a rejection because of a disqualifying record in the shopper’s personal history. 
 
 And then there are the people who slip through the cracks and obtain guns they should have been barred from possessing — sometimes with deadly consequences. The gunmen in the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church shooting, Charleston, South Carolina, church massacre, and Virginia Tech rampage each had a history that banned them from owning firearms. Yet none were stopped, because of omissions and loopholes in the system. 
 
 It’s such cases that expose the hidden complexities of NICS, and the importance of each element functioning the way that it should. 
 
 Given the central role that background checks play in balancing individual Americans’ gun rights and our shared public safety, it’s worth investing a few minutes to understand how they work. 
 
 I walk into a licensed gun store and ask to buy a gun. What happens next? 
 
 You’ll have to complete Form 4473, which includes 16 questions relating to your background, drug use, and criminal history. The gun store will then contact NICS online or by phone and supply your answers, and your Social Security number. 
 
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 What does the FBI look for in a background check? 
 
 Anything that makes a person too high-risk to possess lethal firepower, in the eyes of the law. Those include criminal and mental health history, dishonorable military discharges, unlawful immigration status, an open warrant, a documented history of domestic violence, and drug use. 
 
 Felony convictions are the most common reason for the gun background check system to reject an applicant, resulting in 785,984 denials during the 19 years that NICS has been in operation. More than 178,000 fugitives, 136,000 domestic offenders, and 131,000 unlawful drug users have also been blocked. The bar for denying someone on mental health grounds is very high, requiring that a person has been declared unsound or involuntarily confined to a psychiatric institution by a court or other authority. Fewer than 32,000 people have been denied under this criterion. 
 
 Where does the gun background check system get all this information? 
 
 To ascertain whether an applicant should be disqualified from owning a gun, the FBI draws from three databases. The Interstate Identification Index is a giant repository of criminal convictions used by an array of law enforcement agencies for a range of purposes. The National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, is an “electronic clearinghouse” of other criminal justice records, including protective orders and disposition records Finally, there’s the NICS Indices, which include records contributed by federal, state and local agencies specifically flagging individuals prohibited from buying a gun. 
 
 The NICS Indices hold records that wouldn’t necessarily show up in the other two solely criminal databases. That includes those related to mental health and immigration status. However, some states like Connecticut add nearly all prohibiting records to the NICS Indices because they typically result in a quick denial, without any need for further investigation by the FBI. 
 
 So if someone has done something that leaves them banned from firearm ownership, that record will be in one of the databases, the FBI will see it, and they won’t get the gun? 
 
 That’s the idea — but as experts will tell you, the gun background check system is only as strong as the records it contains. Some records never make it into the databases, and others are entered in a way that doesn’t make it crystal clear that the person is barred from possessing guns. 
 
 States voluntarily supply records to the databases that make up the NICS system, and they do a spotty job of it. According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report, at the end of 2014 there were 7.8 million active-warrant records in state warrant databases, but only about 2.1 million such records in the NCIC database. 
 
 Mental health records present a particular problem. The only way a history of involuntary psychiatric confinement or a judge’s ruling of mental incompetence will show up on a gun background check is if a state makes the effort to submit it to the NICS Indices — those records aren’t meant for the other two databases. The Virginia Tech massacre, committed by a gunman whose history of severe psychiatric illness had not been forwarded to the the FBI, exposed shortfalls in mental health reporting to the NICS Indices. Several states have since made progress in correcting those omissions, but others have remained resistant, citing privacy laws. As of December 31, 2016, several states have submitted only a handful of disqualifying mental health records to the NICS. 
 
 The military has also fallen short in forwarding records from its internal justice system. The names of service members expelled under a dishonorable discharge are forwarded to the NICS Indices, since a dishonorable discharge, on its own, triggers a gun ban. Service members convicted in court-martials for other offenses, like felony assault, domestic violence, or drug possession, may also be prohibited from possessing firearms. Those records go into NCIC. Base officers are supposed to add labels to the paperwork database making it clear when the offender is barred from guns. 
 
 In the case of the Texas church gunman Devin Kelley, records from his Air Force court-martial for choking his then-wife and fracturing the skull of his baby stepson were never entered into the FBI’s system. He was able to buy at least three guns from licensed sellers, passing a background check each time. 
 
 Do gun background checks work the same in every state? 
 
 Yes and no. 
 
 Federal law establishes the grounds for gun bans, so generally speaking, a history that gets a person barred in one state will also bar him across the country. But states can also decide that other crimes should also initiate a ban. The federal gun prohibition for domestic abusers doesn’t apply to dating partners, for instance, so 23 states and the District of Columbia have passed their own laws closing that so-called boyfriend loophole. 
 
 States also have the option of running their own gun background checks, supplementing the FBI’s databases by sweeping state and local records repositories as well. Twenty one states choose to do so. 
 
 Back to my check: How long does it take? 
 
 Related Background Checks The 12 Reasons Why Americans Fail Federal Gun Background Checks More than 2 million people have been blocked from buying a gun after failing federal background checks since 1998. But some reasons for denial are more common than others. 
 
 NICS has “instant” in its name for a reason. Department of Justice guidelines require NICS reviewers to make an immediate decision in 90 percent of cases. 
 
 If the check comes back clean, the FBI gives the sale a green light. If it doesn’t, the purchase is denied. Sometimes the FBI seeks more information in order to make a final determination. In those cases, the check is transferred to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, where an examiner reaches out to local law enforcement and other state agencies. 
 
 So when a gun background check isn’t instant, how long can it take? 
 
 When a check requires more information, the FBI has three business days to make a final determination on the buyer. If a decision can’t be made in that time, a licensed dealer is allowed by law to go ahead and sell the firearm, in a sale referred to by the FBI as a “default proceed.” 
 
 The dealer is not required to notify the FBI when a sale goes through this way. The NICS examiner tasked with the case is supposed to keep working on it and has up to 90 days to reach a final conclusion. 
 
 Default proceed sales can have public safety implications. In April 2015, Dylann Roof legally purchased a Glock handgun in such a transaction after a cascade of clerical errors delayed his background check. Roof was disqualified from gun ownership because of a drug charge. Two months later, he used the weapon he bought to murder nine parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. 
 
 FBI data also indicates that some categories of prohibited purchasers tend to stretch past the three-business day window more often than others. According to December 2016 Government Accountability Office report, the FBI takes a week to deny sales because of a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. That’s more time than any other kind of denial, which is troubling considering the strong link between domestic violence, homicide and mass shootings. 
 
 Say my background check ultimately does show I’m not allowed to own guns, but after the three-day period has expired? Then what happens to the gun I just bought? 
 
 If the FBI determines that the buyer was prohibited, the agency sends out a retrieval order to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The ATF is then responsible for getting the gun back. 
 
 Retrieval orders are relatively rare: A NICS operations report from 2000 noted that of more than 45,000 default proceeds issued that year, approximately 5,000 resulted in a retrieval order. 
 
 [Photo:AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images] ||||| Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a national, bipartisan coalition of mayors working to make America’s communities safer by keeping illegal guns out of dangerous hands. Co-founded in 2006 by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, the coalition consists of mayors from 43 states, including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, from major cities and small towns around the country. 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Investigation by Mayors Against Illegal Guns Shows Thousands of Individuals with Criminal Records are Seeking to Illegally Buy Guns Through Online Sales 
 
 
 
 September 18, 2013 -- The bipartisan Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition today announced the results of the first-ever national investigation into individual buyers with criminal records seeking to illegally acquire guns via online gun sales. The report concludes that thousands of people already barred by existing Federal law from purchasing guns are flocking to the Internet to evade background checks and acquire guns illegally, with no questions asked. The investigation – which examined online gun listings posted between February and May 2013 on the popular website Armslist.com – found that this single website could transfer more than 25,000 guns to individuals with criminal records just this year. 
 
 Read the press release 
 
 Read the full report here 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hundreds of Americans Rally in Washington, DC to Launch Next Phase in National Fight to Fix Gun Background Check System 
 
 
 
 September 19, 2013 -- A broad coalition of Americans from across the country – including survivors of gun violence and the families of its victims, members of Congress, law enforcement, gun owners, state and local elected officials, veterans, and faith leaders – held a rally in Washington, D.C. today as part of the “No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence” bus tour. Over the last 100 days, the tour has traveled the nation, bringing Americans together at events in 25 states to urge elected officials to reconsider bipartisan gun background check legislation that enjoys overwhelming public support – but that a minority of U.S. Senators blocked in April. Today’s rally marked the bus tour’s return to Washington, D.C., and the launch of the next phase in the national fight to fix the gun background check system. 
 
 Read the press release 
 
 
 
 
 
 Statement of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Failure of U.S. Senate to Pass Gun Background Check Legislation 
 
 New Polls in More Than 40 Districts and 20 States Show Voters Overwhelmingly Support Background Checks for All Gun Sales 
 
 
 
 New polls released this week by Mayors Against Illegal Guns conducted by Douglas E. Schoen LLC showed likely voters in a wide range of states and congressional districts overwhelmingly support background checks for all gun sales. The average support for background checks for all gun sales among 41 congressional district polls was 89 percent; the average among 21 statewide polls was 86 percent. The findings of these surveys can be found at www.demandaction.org . Full-page advertisements in today's Washington Post, Politico and Roll Call feature the poll results along with members of Congress from these states and districts and their ratings from the National Rifle Association. 
 
 Read the press release 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mayors Against Illegal Guns Releases New PSA Demanding Action from Congress 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mayors Against Illegal Guns has released a PSA featuring 30 mayors demanding that Congress take immediate action to prevent gun violence. The PSA marks a transition in the coalition's campaign from demanding a plan to demanding that Congress take action to pass legislation to require background checks for all sales, limit military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and make gun trafficking a federal crime. The bipartisan coalition now includes more than 900 mayors from 45 states and more than 1.4 million grassroots supporters. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs on President Obama's Comprehensive Proposal to Reduce Gun Violence 
 
 Mayors Against Illegal Guns Releases New Television Ad Demanding Action From Washington and Report On Gun Lobby Suppression of Research on Gun Violence on One-Month Anniversary of Newtown Shooting 
 
 
 
 Marking one month since the tragedy in Newtown, Mayors Against Illegal Guns today released a new national television ad (available at www.demandaction.org) featuring family members of gun violence victims demanding that political leaders take immediate steps to end the gun violence that kills 33 Americans every day. Co-chair Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg also released "Access Denied", a new report that surveys all the efforts by the gun lobby, with the cooperation of Congress, to suppress data and research funding on gun violence, making it difficult to study the causes of gun violence and to hold the firearms industry accountable for their role in the epidemic. The report (available at www.demandaction.org) was released at a summit focused on gun violence research at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. 
 
 Read the press release 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mayors Against Illegal Guns Launches New TV Ad on Second Anniversary of Tucson Shooting 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Two years after the Tucson mass shooting in which six were killed and former Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot, Mayors Against Illegal Guns today released a new television ad featuring Roxanna Green, mother of Christina-Taylor Green, the nine year-old girl murdered that day. The 30-second spot opens with a scene from the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in which 20 children were killed. In the ad, Green demands that elected officials in Washington D.C. take immediate action to reduce gun violence in America. The ad can be viewed at www.demandaplan.org/christina-taylor. 
 
 
 
 "How many more children must die before Washington does something to end our gun violence problem?" said Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "We need political leaders to hear Roxanna loud and clear: we cannot wait any longer for you to do something about gun violence. Another child should not have to die." 
 
 
 
 "Roxanna Green knows all too well the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence - sadly, there are parents and siblings and friends who learn this every day in our country," said Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "It's time for Washington to act to reduce gun violence - for the 33 Americans that are killed every day and for all of our children." 
 
 Read the full release here 
 
 Watch the ad here 
 
 
 
 
 
 Statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs On National Rifle Association Press Conference 
 
 
 
 December 21, 2012 – “The NRA's Washington leadership has long been out of step with its members, and never has that been so apparent as this morning. Their press conference was a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country. Instead of offering solutions to a problem they have helped create, they offered a paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe. Leadership is about taking responsibility, especially in times of crisis. Today the NRA's lobbyists blamed everyone but themselves for the crisis of gun violence. While they promote armed guards, they continue to oppose the most basic and common sense steps we can take to save lives - not only in schools, but in our movie theaters, malls, and streets. Enough. As a country, we must rise above special interest politics. Every day, nearly 34 Americans are murdered with guns. That's why 74 percent of NRA members support common sense restrictions like criminal background checks for anyone buying a gun. It is time for Americans who care about the Second Amendment and reasonable gun restrictions to join together to work with the President and Congress to stop the gun violence in this country. Demand a plan.” 
 
 Read the full statement 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coalition Members Send Concrete Proposals to Washington in the Wake of Newtown Mass Shooting 
 
 
 
 December 19 – More than 750 member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns today sent a letter to President Obama and Congressional leadership urging passage of legislation to: close deadly loopholes in the national background check system; limit the availability of military style weapons and high-capacity magazines; and make gun trafficking a federal crime. 
 
 Read the letter here 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Survivors and Family Members of Gun Violence Victims Demand a Plan to Reduce Gun Violence from Washington 
 
 
 
 December 17, 2012 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was joined today by survivors and family members of victims of gun violence to release personal videos demanding that elected officials in Washington D.C. take immediate action to reduce gun violence in America. The videos can be viewed at www.DemandAPlan.org The videos tell the stories of 34 Americans whose lives have been forever changed - whether in mass shootings in Aurora, Oak Creek, Tucson and Virginia Tech or in the daily gun violence that kills nearly 34 Americans every day. The diverse voices hail from urban and suburban areas across the country, young and old, of different races and religious backgrounds. Every story is different, but all survivors are united in their belief thatsomething must be done to prevent more tragedies like the one in Newtown, Connecticut and like the tragedy they personally experienced. “What happened in Newtown was an unspeakable crime – a mass murder in which six- and seven-year-old children were gunned down in their classrooms, along with their elementary school teachers and administrators,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Gun violence is a national epidemic – and a national tragedy – that demands more than words. It demands immediate national action, from the President and from Congress. It needs to be at the top of their agenda.” 
 
 Read the press release 
 
 Watch and share the videos 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs on Newtown, Connecticut Shooting 
 
 
 
 December 14, 2012 – Statement of Mayor's Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg: "With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it's still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen. It has come to that. Not even kindergarteners learning their ABC's are safe. We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. And now we are hearing it again. For every day we wait, nearly 34 more people are murdered with guns. 
 
 Read the press release 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Michigan Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Police, Domestic Violence Opponents Block NRA Attempt to Eliminate Background Checks for Handguns Bought from Unlicensed Sellers 
 
 
 
 The Michigan Senate today rejected an attempt to eliminate a law requiring people who buy handguns from unlicensed sellers to first pass a background check, voting instead to preserve every essential element of a system mayors and police called a successful crime-fighting tool. 
 
 The vote marked a remarkable turnaround for legislation the National Rifle Association’s Washington office had designed as a vehicle to repeal the state’s “permit to purchase” system and eliminate the permit database maintained by the Michigan State Police. A version of the bill that would have gutted the permit system passed the Michigan House earlier this year and was widely expected to reach Governor Rick Snyder’s desk during the legislature’s lame-duck session. 
 
 Read the press release 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Aurora Shooting Survivor Demands a Plan to Reduce Gun Violence From Presidential Candidates in Ad Campaign Aimed at Colorado Debate Viewers 
 
 
 
 A survivor of the July mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado is appearing in a new TV ad asking the presidential candidates to explain how they will reduce gun violence when they meet to debate on Wednesday less than ten miles from the Cinemark theater where a dozen people were killed and 58 wounded. The ad features Stephen Barton, a recent Syracuse University graduate and Fulbright Scholarship recipient who was shot while spending the night in Aurora on a bicycle trip across America. The ad will air nationally during the week that President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney meet at the University of Denver for their first face-to-face debate. 
 
 Watch the TV ad featuring Stephen Barton 
 
 Read the press release (PDF) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coalition Launches Interactive Map Showing Failure of States to Submit Mental Health Records 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 August 16, 2012 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns has launched an interactive map showing how many mental health records each state has submitted to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), and comparing this performance with the best-performing states. Based on new FBI data updating the coalition's November 2011 Fatal Gaps report, the map shows that 21 states have each submitted fewer than 100 records. This continued failure to repair the system also spurred sixty-seven survivors and victims' family members of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting to send a letter to President Obama and Governor Romney – demanding that the candidates announce plans to improve the nation's background check system. 
 
 Visit DemandAPlan.org/FatalGaps to View the Interactive Map of NICS Records 
 
 Read the coalition press release about the map and the Virginia Tech letter 
 
 Read the letter from the Virginia Tech survivors and victims' family members to President Obama and Governor Romney (PDF) 
 
 Download the November 2011 "Fatal Gaps" Report (PDF) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coalition Releases New Poll of NRA Members Showing Strong Support For Common-Sense Gun Laws 
 
 
 
 July 24, 2012 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns released the findings of a recent survey by GOP pollster Frank Luntz showing that NRA members and gun owners overwhelmingly support a variety of laws designed to keep firearms out of dangerous hands. The survey's key findings include that 87 percent of NRA members agree that support for Second Amendment rights goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, and 74 percent of NRA members and 87 percent of non-NRA gun owners support requiring criminal background checks of anyone purchasing a gun. 
 
 Download the Poll Results (PDF) 
 
 Read the Press Release 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mayors Against Illegal Guns Statement on Aurora Shooting 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Read the statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino 
 
 
 
 Mayors Oppose Concealed Carry Reciprocity Mandate 
 
 
 
 Mayors oppose pending legislation in Congress that would allow Trayvon Martin's killer to carry hidden, loaded guns nationwide. 
 
 Read the letter 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coalition Co-Chairs Urge the U.S. Senate to Reject Bills That Would Override State Laws on Concealed, Loaded Guns 
 
 March 15, 2012 - New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino join the more than 625 mayors, police officers, prosecutors and domestic violence experts who oppose legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate that would gut state rules for who can carry a concealed, loaded gun in public. 
 
 Read the Statement 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coalition Co-Chairs Star in Super Bowl Ad Promoting Common Sense Reforms to Keep Guns Out of the Hands of Criminals 
 
 February 2, 2012 - This Sunday, during Super Bowl XLVI, Patriots fan and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Giants fan and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will appear in a new television advertisement promoting common sense reforms to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. 
 
 
 
 Watch the TV advertisement 
 
 Learn more about common sense ways to fix the gun background check system at www.FixGunChecks.org 
 
 Follow Mayors Against Illegal Guns on Facebook and Twitter. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fix Gun Checks: Delete Online Outlaws Urges Websites to Crack Down on Illegal Gun Sales 
 
 December 14, 2011 - In response to a new investigation by the City of New York that exposed the vast, unregulated online market for illegal guns, Mayors Against Illegal Guns launched a grassroots effort to crack down on illegal online gun sales. The investigation found that 62% of sellers were willing to sell to individuals who said they couldn't pass a criminal background check. The coalition is urging Congress to take action to require a background check on all gun sales, and for websites to take simple steps to stop illegal sales: requiring sellers to register with the site before listing guns for sale online; requiring buyers to register with the site before contacting gun sellers; providing a simple mechanism to flag suspicious behavior; and auditing their own sites - as many sites are already doing. 
 
 Learn more 
 
 Read the coalition press release about the investigation 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Coalition Report Shows State and Federal Failures Undermine Background Check System and Allow Substance Abusers and the Mentally Ill to Buy Guns 
 
 November 14, 2011 - New Mayors Against Illegal Guns report reveals data showing that states and federal agencies fail to send millions of records to the federal firearms background check system, enabling substance abusers, the mentally ill and other dangerous individuals to pass background checks and purchase firearms. 
 
 Download the report (in PDF) 
 
 Read the press release 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mayors Oppose Concealed Gun Mandate in New Ad 
 
 October 20, 2011 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns placed a full-page ad in USA Today calling on the U.S. Senate to reject an effort to strip state authority to decide who can carry concealed, loaded guns in public. This federal mandate would threaten the safety of our communities by putting loaded guns in the hands of people who are too dangerous to qualify for a local permit. 
 
 See the USA Today Advertisement (in PDF) 
 
 Join Our Campaign at OurLivesOurLaws.org 
 
 Read the Press Release 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coalition Launches Campaign Against National Concealed Carry Reciprocity 
 
 September 12, 2011 – A coalition of more than 600 mayors has launched a campaign to defend the rights of states to decide who can carry concealed, loaded guns. The campaign website, OurLivesOurLaws.org, highlights the broad opposition to the National Right-to-Carry Act (H.R.822) from law enforcement, faith leaders, domestic violence groups, and the more than 45,000 Americans who have signed the Our Lives, Our Laws petition. A new poll, also released today, shows that voters overwhelmingly oppose Congressional efforts to override state concealed carry laws. 
 
 Read the Press Release 
 
 Download the Poll Results (in PDF) 
 
 Download the Fact Sheet for H.R. 822 (in PDF) 
 
 Sign the Petition at OurLivesOurLaws.org 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coalition Calls on President Obama to Strengthen and Better Enforce Gun Laws 
 
 On the six-month anniversary of the tragic shooting in Tucson, Mayors Against Illegal Guns issued a letter calling on President Obama to prevent criminals, terrorists, and other dangerous people from obtaining illegal guns. The coalition members offered four concrete steps the administration could take without Congressional action to better enforce existing gun laws, reminding the President that over 6,100 Americans have died from gun violence since the Tucson shooting. 
 
 Read the Letter to President Obama 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mayors Urge Repeal of Restrictions that Impede Investigation of "Fast & Furious" 
 
 Mayors Michael R. Bloomberg and Thomas M. Menino, coalition co-chairs, called on Congressional leaders to repeal the Tiahrt restrictions that are blocking Congressional oversight of the ATF's controversial "Operation Fast & Furious." ATF allegedly allowed guns to be illegally trafficked to Mexico, possibly putting law enforcement officers in danger. The Tiahrt Amendments prohibit ATF from sharing crime gun trace data. As a result, Congress has been forced to request trace data connected to the Fast & Furious investigation from the Mexican Government. 
 
 Read the Letter to Congressional Leaders 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mayors Launch TV Ad Addressing Al Qaeda Gun Plot 
 
 A coalition of more than 600 mayors has launched a national TV ad campaign calling attention to a recent Al Qaeda propaganda video that urges the terrorist group's followers to exploit loopholes to purchase firearms without background checks. The mayors' ad is running on national cable news programs this week. It urges Congress to pass the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 and the Denying Firearms to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2011, bills pending that would close the loopholes Al Qaeda publicized. 
 
 Watch the "What Are You Waiting For?" Ad 
 
 Read the Press Release Announcing the Ad 
 
 Read the Mayor's Statement Responding to the Al Qaeda Propaganda Video 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 is Introduced in the House of Representatives 
 
 May 6, 2011 - Yesterday members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 (H.R.1781). This legislation will close gaps in the national gun background system that have enabled criminals and other dangerous people – including Tucson shooter Jared Loughner – to easily obtain firearms. The bill was introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and more than two dozen other members, including Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers and Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Bobby Scott. Senator Chuck Schumer introduced similar legislation in February. The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 achieves the goal President Obama set after the Tucson mass shooting, a gun background check system that is "instant, accurate, and comprehensive." 
 
 Read the Press Release Announcing the House Bill 
 
 
 
 
 
 Following President Obama's Call, Tucson Shooting Victims' Families Endorse Plan to Fix U.S. Gun Background Check System 
 
 March 28, 2011 - Arizona families, civic leaders and elected officials today gathered to endorse legislation based on the Mayors' plan to fix the gun background check system. The press conference, in Tucson, brought together victims of the mass shooting on January 8th that killed 6 people and injured 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Attendees included Ross Zimmerman, the father of Gabe Zimmerman, Rep. Giffords' staff member who was killed in the shooting; James Fuller; Randy Gardner; Patricia Maisch, who prevented the shooter from reloading; Dr. Peter Rhee, chief of trauma at University Medical Center; and others. The event comes just two weeks after President Obama signaled his support for fixing background checks. 
 
 Read the Press Release 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Key Members of Congress Join Mayor Bloomberg in Announcing House Version of the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 
 
 March 15, 2011 - Mayor Michael Bloomberg today applauded President Obama for his recent statements in support of fixing the gun background check system and closing the loopholes that enable criminals to avoid these checks; the President expressed his support in a March 13 letter written to the Arizona Daily Star. During the press conference in Washington D.C., Mayor Bloomberg was joined by New York Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who will introduce the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 in the U.S. House, other key House members from across the country. 
 
 Read the Press Release About Today's Announcement 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 President Obama Expresses Support for Fixing Background Checks 
 
 March 14, 2011 - In a letter to a Tucson newspaper yesterday, President Obama announced his support for an improved system to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. The President called for an "instant, accurate, and comprehensive" background check for gun sales, stressing that dangerous individuals should not be able to avoid the background check requirement altogether. His comments add to the growing momentum behind the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Fix Gun Checks campaign, which polls show also has the support of an overwhelming majority of Americans-including gun owners. 
 
 See President Obama's Letter to the Arizona Daily Star 
 
 Read the Statement from the Coalition's Co-Chairs in Response to President Obama's Statements (in PDF) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mayors Launch National Drive to Fix Gun Checks 
 
 February 16, 2011 - This morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared on Good Morning America to launch the National Drive to Fix Gun Checks and raise awareness of gun crime across the country. The Fix Gun Checks billboard truck started in Times Square and keeps a running toll of the numbers of the Americans murdered by guns since the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona. The National Drive will criss-cross at least 25 states to meet with mayors, law enforcement, faith leaders, victims of gun violence, sportsmen, and supporters over the next two months. 
 
 Read the press release announcing the tour 
 
 Learn more at www.fixgunchecks.org 
 
 
 
 
 
 America’s Mayors, Kennedy, and King Families Call on President and Congress to Act 
 
 January 25, 2011 – This morning, Mayors Against Illegal Guns joined with Martin Luther King, III and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in sending an open letter to President Obama and Members of Congress urging them to fix the nation's criminal background check system. The letter appeared as a full page ad in the January 25th edition of the Washingon Post. 
 
 Download the Print Ad (PDF) 
 
 Take Action at 
 
 Read the Mayors’ Plan to Fix Gun Checks (PDF) Take Action at www.fixgunchecks.org
– With 20 million Americans using online dating sites, how can you be sure that your prospective date isn't married? Or, say, a mass murderer? New online security services—such as MyMatchChecker.com, Date Check, and the Instant National Criminal Search—are offering background checks on people using the nearly 1,500 dating websites in the United States, reports the New York Times. New York and New Jersey are the first two states to offer some regulations on Internet dating sites, such as requiring sites to post safety tips and to say whether they require background checks of their members. Experts say that many more states will soon follow. Although some sites like True.com insist on background checks for all members, other dating sites say this is a false sense of security because criminal screening databases are imperfect. But with online dating a billion-dollar industry, increasingly government officials and public safety advocates are calling for better safeguards. Failing that, there's always a healthy sense of skepticism: “Don’t give up your heart so fast,” cautions one safety expert.