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Can You Pass a Background Check?


1. Are you the actual transferee/buyer of the firearm(s)?
2. Are you under indictment or information in any court for a felony, or any other crime, for which the judge could imprison you for more than one year?
3. Have you ever been convicted in any court of a felony, or any other crime, for which the judge could have you imprisoned for more than one year, even if you received a shorter sentence including probation?
4. Are you a fugitive from justice?
5. Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?
6. Have you ever been adjudicated mentally defective (which includes a determination by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority that you are a danger to yourself or to others or are incompetent to manage your own affairs) or have you ever been committed to a mental institution?
7. Have you been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions?
8. Are you subject to a court order restraining you from harassing, stalking, or threatening your child or an intimate partner or child of such partner?
9. Have you ever been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence?
10. Have you ever renounced your United States citizenship?
11. Are you an alien illegally in the United States?
12. Are you an alien admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa?
13. Do you have a valid government-issued photo identification, such as a driver’s license?
How the original 2014 quiz described the process

To purchase a firearm in America, you have to complete the ATF Form 4473. Then a federal firearms license (FFL) can:

Contact the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) through a state government contact who conducts NICS checks.

Contact NICS call centers for a background check. The FBI conducts these checks.

  &  
Contact NICS through a designated state point of contact for handgun transfers and through the NICS Section phone number for long-gun transfers.

Conduct NICS checks online through NICS E-check.

This 2014 feedback form is closed.

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    Marlena Chertock

    Marlena Chertock is a journalism graduate of the University of Maryland with a minor in creative writing.

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