Stanek to consult with Obama in D.C. on gun proposals

Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek will be in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with President Barack Obama to talk about gun control proposals.

Stanek said the main message he will try to convey is that the nation's background check system has large gaps that need to be patched, adding that the gaps should be fixed before local or national lawmakers expand the background check requirement to include private gun sales.

Only a quarter of all states contribute civil commitment and criminal conviction data to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), Stanek said.

"Yet that's the same federal database that law enforcement's required to check before they issue a permit to carry or a permit to purchase a weapon," he said.

Also this week, state lawmakers expect to receive an estimate on the cost of improving how state court data is contributed to the federal background check system.

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