Are Rhode Islanders being protected from gun bearing criminals? Rep. Patricia Morgan, House Minority leader and Republican candidate for governor, doesn't think so.

But Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is adamant that the national criminal database is being supplied with the right information to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.  

Despite the Attorney General’s insistence that information is being reported properly, Morgan on Monday was steadfast in her belief that Kilmartin is not reporting information on a national level.

“We want to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill,” said Morgan on Monday. “The Attorney General is still not reporting to the national system.”

Morgan contacted the FBI and the Attorney General’s Office to ask about the number of people reported to the national database over the past ten years. In both cases they responded to her inquiry with “we were unable to locate records responsive to your request.”

She claims that this negative response implies that no information about Rhode Island criminals is being sent to a national safety database. She held a press conference in the State House last Thursday to voice her concerns.

The disagreement between Morgan and the Attorney General has been extended, with Kilmartin releasing a press release attacking Morgan’s position before her press conference on Thursday.

The national criminal database is called NICS and a NICS Check is the most common criminal background check run by a gun seller before a firearm can be sold. The check involves three different databases, the III, the NCIC, and the NICS Indices. The III and the NCIC are accessed directly by law enforcement, while the NICS Indices is used by other parts of government, such as the courts and the U.S. Navy. Rhode Island only had 444 entries into the NICS Indices part of the national system as of December 31, 2017.

Kilmartin disagrees with Morgan's interpretation of the law. Amy Kempe, Kilmartin’s spokesperson, said Monday “Rep. Morgan does not have a clear understanding of how the NICS system works.”

“[Morgan’s statements] can only be explained by her fundamental lack of understanding of the NICS system, or by a reckless disregard for the truth,” said Kempe. “She is trying to imply that our office is not doing our job.”    

The attorney general is adamant Morgan is only looking at entries into the NICS Indices part of the NICS Check, when in fact Rhode Island enters the majority of criminal activity into the III or the NCIC, sections of the national database which are accessed directly by law enforcement. Thus, Rhode Island has very few NICS Indices entries, only 444 as of December 31, 2017.

When asked why the attorney general’s office couldn't answer the request concerning the number of people entered into the system, Kempe said Monday, “the question was poorly asked,” and showed a “complete lack of understanding of the system.”

Also, she said entries are made by offense, not by name, making it difficult to tabulate the total amount of people entered into the database.

A document supplied by the attorney general’s office on the FBI website concerning “Active Records in the NICS Indices by State” states that “if the [criminal] information is available in the NCIC or the III, entry into the NICS Indices is not always necessary. Therefore, certain categories within the NICS Indices may show minimal or no participation by a state or federal agency.”