Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't criminal records already considered public records?
yep.
I don't know about other states, but in WI, you can look up a name on a circuit court website and get a full list of cases from jaywalking to murder.
The whole NICS check (as well as other regulations) pretty stupid, put in place by stupid people, IMHO.
Most of it I have been patient about and just put up with it becasue I have to...
The absurdity really hit me hard one day when I was in Fleet Farm purchasing a .38 J-Frame. I had to wait the state imposed 2 day 'cooling off' period then about 1 hour for a NICS check. Both times I was in the store for that purchase, I was carrying a 1911 with 2 spare mags.