NICS Ticks Me Off!

[meef]

Basic scenario....

Last Monday (April 24th) I went down to the shop that receives the firearms I buy at Gunbroker.com for me. They only charge $10 to do the deed, so I give them all my business like this.

I buy about one gun every two to three months on average and things always go smoothly - until this time.

While I twiddled my thumbs waiting for the obligatory permission from Big Brother to purchase a firearm, the answer came back - Delayed.

Here's the odd part. I've been delayed before in the past (who hasn't) and after the usual three days always went down and picked up whatever. But this time, my dealer said, "You've been delayed until May 4th unless we hear otherwise".

.... Huh? I thought there was a three day waiting period after which if NICS didn't find any dirt on you, the dealer could release the gun. In all of my previous delays over the years (maybe three or four times, mainly because I wouldn't give my SSN to them - I finally gave up on that battle) there was never any extended waiting period beyond three working days...?

I looked online for some guidelines and came up with this:

On the third business day of a DELAYED transaction, the NICS Examiner is required to call the FFL and advise him/her of their rights under the Brady Act to transfer the firearm after the third business day. If the delayed transaction cannot be resolved within the allowed three business days, it is at the discretion of the FFL whether to allow the firearm transfer. However, the NICS Section continues to research the case in an effort to obtain complete disposition information. Business days do not include the day the check was initiated Saturdays, Sundays, and any day state offices in the state of purchase are closed.

I don't think my dealer would have any problems releasing the gun after the above waiting period - but he was specifically told May 4th, which is eight working days after I filled out the paperwork. ***?

Not my field of expertise - any input would be greatly appreciated, but will not make me think more kindly of NICS, rest assured.

 

[meef]

Just bumping this back up because I'm still curious.

To rephrase, simpler...... can NICS put an extended delay (not a denial) on a purchase and require the dealer to not deliver after the three day waiting period listed above? I know - they're a bureaucracy that probably doesn't have to answer to anyone or anything.

I had my dealer call them back on Friday asking for a phone number where I could call and complain/protest this particular action. Silly me. He was essentially told, "Tough nuts, pal. Unless it's been denied, there's nowhere you can go and nothing you can do."

I know there must be someone out there who has the knowledge or experience with this sort of situation. Just set me straight.

 

[MechAg94]

You could try contacting your Congressman as a start.

 

[American By Blood]

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that's illegal. Yay for the Feds!

Thanks to NICS I can't buy from dealers at gun shows. Over the past few years all of my transactions have been delayed until they "timed out." At a gun store this is an annoying reminder of Constitutional erosion. At a gun show it's a deal breaker. A FFL isn't going to keep that sweet Tula SKS off of his table all weekend because some guy with a delayed background check promises him that he has no disqualifying factors in his background.

F-Troop and the FBI don't want you to own guns. Sad but true. And because the things aren't yet banned outright, our Fed buddies'll keep creating more legal hoops you have to jump through in an attempt to make the process of acquiring firearms too annoying for most people to bother with. This whole "longer than legal delay" technique is likely new, but I bet we'll see it more in the future. Either nobody will have the time or money to "fight city hall" or the JBTs will avoid that fight altogether by simply not having the channels or funding in place for there to be an official appeals process.

 

[Cosmoline]

I've never heard of an "extended delay." NICS are a bunch of yahoos, but they have their tracks and they run on them. They don't get creative. It may be your FFL is just foot dragging.

 

[meef]

I've never heard of an "extended delay." NICS are a bunch of yahoos, but they have their tracks and they run on them. They don't get creative. It may be your FFL is just foot dragging.

You know, that crossed my mind. Even though I've used the same dealer several times, we're not tight buddies or anything.

But, I was there filling out the paperwork and hung around while he was talking on the phone. He went through the motions and gave me the May 4th routine. I don't know what benefit it would be to him to prolong the issue...?

Suspicious by nature type that I tend to be, I've got to get the straight dope on this. It really irritates me to be strung along by NICS - it would irritate me a lot more if for some reason my FFL was doing it.

Arrrgh....

 

[pete f]

There is a number I believe for those how are delayed or denied to proceed to in order to find out why and where the delay or denial came from. I have a good friend who was ALWAYS delayed because he had the same name as a wanted person. He was ab le to call the Number at NICS and get his name cleared linking it to his Social Security Number. Not supposed to be but it worked for him.

 

[meef]

Well... the older you get, the more you learn, hopefully.

Update: I live in Oregon. I discovered today from another dealer I use that Oregon is a state that doesn't deal directly with NICS, but rather uses the State Police for that purpose.

And it seems that the Oregon State Police branch that handles firearms purchases doesn't have to answer to anybody or anything. For whatever reason - and it can be totally arbitrary for all I know (they don't talk to peon citizens about such insignificant details) - they can just decide to postpone your picking up your firearm until whenever it suits them.

I've been buying firearms for all of my adult life (no short span, either) simply because I really do like shooting. I'm not a felon, etc., etc. The last gun I bought was about two or three weeks ago. In the meantime I don't think I've robbed any banks, assassinated any heads of state, smuggled any drugs or mistreated any children or kittens. Never can be sure at my age, I probably should check my DayTimer just to be sure.

Just what we need here in Oregon - another level of governmental nanny spoonfeeding us our rights as they see fit.

Arrrrggggh!

 

[F4GIB]

So far, I've never had a NICS check take longer than 2 seconds. My dealer finishes talking, takes a breath and immediately starts writing down the clearance number. I don't give them my SSAN either. Some folks are lucky.