What is one option the American people can choose to take a step toward reducing gun violence, without creating tougher gun laws for gun consumers? One possible response to this would be to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agency. Simply improving the NICS would not be enough, vice versa with the ATF. Both the NICS and the ATF have serious problems that need to be addressed simultaneously to reduce the amount of gun violence in America. The NICS is what gun dealers use to conduct background checks on prospective buyers to see if they are eligible to purchase a firearm. According to Martha Bellisle in the article "Gun Background Check System Riddled With Flaws", the NICS lists people who are prohibited from purchasing a firearm. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThese people are usually criminals, mentally ill, drug addicts, and dishonorably discharged (Bellisla). Bellisla discusses the issue of how the NICS is poorly updated by states, local police departments, and health institutions. If the NICS were constantly updated by states, local police departments, and health care institutions, it would become more effective at denying firearms to customers if they are prohibited from purchasing one. As for the ATF, the problem is their failure to enforce gun sales laws. In the article “When Guns Are Sold Illegally, the ATF Is Lenient on Punishments,” the author, Ali Watkins, informs readers how gun dealers escape the ATF when they have violated gun regulations. weapons. There have been many occasions when the ATF has failed to adequately punish gun traffickers for violating gun sales regulations. One of the reasons the ATF has failed many times to revoke a gun dealer's license is the way the law works against the ATF. In order for a gun dealer to have his license revoked, the ATF must prove that he intentionally violated the law, because simply violating the law is not enough for the ATF to revoke the license. This creates a problem with the ATF, because it is very difficult to prove that a gun dealer intentionally broke the law. Because it is difficult to prove that a gun dealer has intentionally broken the law, most dealers will appeal, at which a supervisor may downgrade the recommendation, to revoke the license, to a warning (Watkins). There is a possible solution to resolve the issue with the NICS and ATF. Providing incentives is one way to get states, local police departments and healthcare institutions to consistently share information and update the NICS. Giving healthcare institutions the opportunity to receive tax deductions, if they have their mental health department constantly updating the NICS, would be an incentive for them to help solve the problem with the NICS. As for states and local police departments, offering grants for their cooperation would be an incentive. Now, if states, local police departments, or healthcare institutions receive the award, but then stop contributing to the NICS, their grants/tax deductions will be denied the following year. This would serve to keep them engaged in constantly updating the NICS, and not just for a while. As far as the ATF is concerned, the solution would be to change the law, under which the ATF must prove that a trafficker.