Dueling debate

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has acknowledged a tragic and inexcusable failure in the federal background check system that enabled the suspect in the killings of nine African-Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, to buy a gun.

The admission by 21-year-old Dylann Roof to possessing illegal drugs when he was detained by police in February should have barred him from buying the weapon. The examiner of Roof’s federal background check did not see the police report because the wrong arresting agency was listed in the database.

FBI Director James Comey has ordered a full review. The FBI runs federal background checks of gun dealers, but if the bureau fails to report back to the dealer in three business days, U.S. law allows a gun to be sold.

Predictably, Comey’s revelations have put both sides in the gun-control debate in attack mode. Gun control advocates asserted that the country needs better and wider controls and checks. The gun rights lobby proclaimed the futility of such measures to stop crime and gun violence.

The gun crowd has a point: Any system with flawed execution is practically worthless. At a minimum, the nation needs to fix problems in the current system. In addition, it can and should eliminate multiple gun sales and close the so-called gun show loophole.

We won’t hold our breath while we wait for Congress to act.