As you may have heard, Dylann Roof bought the gun he used in the Charleston church shooting legally. Well, kinda. The killer lied about his drug use and criminal record on his ATF form 4473. A felony! Anyway, Roof was able to get his gun despite a disqualifying criminal background because the FBI’s NICS check system failed to flag him. That apparently prompted the Bloomberg-backed hoplophobic harpies at Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to survey some of the nation’s biggest gun sellers re: their policies on “unfinished” background checks . . .
In their infinite wisdom, when Congress wrote the Brady Bill establishing the NICS background check system, they limited the Fibbies to a three-day maximum turn-around. It was a smart move, because given the current administration’s proclivities, it isn’t hard to imagine someone using his pen and his phone to order a de facto seven-day (or longer) waiting period on all gun purchases via a NICS system slow-walk.
But as the FBI advises,
If the FFL has not received a final determination from the NICS after three business days have elapsed since the delay response, it is within the FFL’s discretion whether or not to transfer the firearm (if state law permits the transfer). If the FFL transfers the firearm, the FFL must check “no resolution was provided within three business days” on line 21d of the ATF Form 4473.
So after three bidness days, the decision whether to transfer a firearm or not is up to the FFL. And for a lot of big box national retailers, that’s a decision they just don’t want to have to make. They take a ‘no OK, no gun’ approach, in order to avoid potential PR disasters like Dylann Roof.
Now the Moms want their dozens of followers to thank these six retailers for their caution. Here’s their email blast:
We reached out to the top firearms retailers in the country to ask whether they’re willing to sell a gun to someone even if the background check is incomplete after three days.
And we’re happy to announce that these six retailers have a “No check, no sale” policy!
Automatically sign a thank you message to these major firearms retailers with gun sense. They’re making sure every gun sold in their stores is sold to a law-abiding citizen.
We know background checks are the most effective way to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. But an NRA-backed loophole makes it legal for dealers to sell guns to people after three days even if the FBI is still investigating their record.
In the past five years alone, more than 15,000 prohibited people were able to buy guns with incomplete background checks — including the Charleston shooter, who killed nine churchgoers. [1] It only takes one gun in the wrong hands to cause devastating tragedy.
That’s why it’s so important that some retailers are taking steps to keep our communities safe and help save lives — and they deserve to be recognized.
Automatically sign a thank you message to these six retailers who have declared no gun will be sold in their stores without a green light from the FBI:
http://act.everytown.org/sign/retailers-thanks Thanks for speaking up and supporting retailers with gun sense!
Jennifer Hoppe
Deputy Director
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
[h/t Eric D.]