April 12, 2021
The FBI processed a record high number of gun background checks in March nearly 4.7 million in one month.
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The FBI processed a record high number of gun background checks in March nearly 4.7 million in one month. The agency is able to make an immediate determination about 90% of the time, but what happens when it can t?
Federal law gives the National Instant Criminal Background Check System three business days to process an application. If it s still pending after three days, federally licensed firearms dealers are allowed to complete the sale anyway.
The FBI says results are most commonly delayed when NICS has an incomplete criminal history. The missing information means employees need to hunt down the relevant details before they can determine whether the applicant is allowed to have a gun. And sometimes that process takes more than three days.
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are again up for debate on Capitol Hill. But our existing gun laws are irrationally limited, loophole ridden, and inadequate, said Robyn Thomas, the executive director of the Giffords Law Center. These gaps make it too easy for felons, and mentally unstable people to get their hands on guns and harm others, said Sen. Dick Durbin.
So what are these loopholes that currently exist in the country s background check system?
Gun show and internet loopholes are two of the most frequently mentioned. Federally licensed firearms dealers are required to run buyers through a background check for every sale, regardless of where that sale is completed. Private and unlicensed sellers don t face that same requirement. So they can sell firearms at gun shows or online without doing a background check, and even gun rights advocates recognize the rise of internet gun sales could be problematic.