State Rep. Gina Hinojosa recently claimed that firearm background checks in Texas are dangerously lax.
“You can have an active warrant for your arrest for murder and legally pass a background check system in the state of Texas,” she said.
Hinojosa made the claim during a press conference at the Texas Capitol in September. She and other lawmakers where there to push for a special legislative session to address mass shootings.
Is that a fact?
Madlin Mekelburg with Politifact Texas based at the Austin American-Statesman has the answer. She says the FBI, which manages the criminal database for background checks, has a list of things that would bar someone from purchasing a firearm.
“If any alarms go off when they’re running a background check, that person is denied purchase,” Mekelburg says. “And that list includes things like people who have been convicted of a felony recently and are within five years of being released from confinement, people with certain mental illness in their history and people who are considered a fugitive from justice.”
Hear how Hinojosa’s claim scored in the player above.
Written by Caroline Covington.
