Gun purchases allowed if background checks unresolved after waiting period

Under Washington state law, staff members at licensed gun shops have the discretion to sell a gun to a customer after 10 business days, even if the customer’s background check has not yet come back with a resolution.

Other states that do not have more specific rules fall under federal law, which only requires a waiting period of three business days for long gun sales.

Biff Lenihan, who recently purchase a gun in Bellevue, told KIRO 7 he took home his revolver after the 10-day waiting period had passed, even though his background check was unresolved.

Lenihan said, “I walked out, I sat in my rig, and I said, ‘what the hell just happened?’”

Wade’s Gun Shop staff told KIRO 7 they make a few calls to see why a background check may be delayed. But they are legally allowed to sell the gun after 10 days have passed.

The King County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the law does not allow a licensed dealer to deliver any firearm to a purchaser or transferee until either the background check is completed, or 10 business days have passed since the request (whichever is earlier.)

If the customer or transferee does not have a valid permanent Washington driver’s license or state identification card, or has not been in the state continuously for the past three months, that 10 days gets extended to 60.

At the federal level, the wait is three days for a long gun.

A spokesperson for the NICS system (National Instant Criminal Background Check System,) directed KIRO 7 to this quote from their website:  “If the FFL [federal firearms licensee] has not received from the NICS a final determination after three business days have elapsed since the delay response, it is within the FFL’s discretion whether or not to transfer the firearm.”

The choice, then, is up to the licensed dealer.

Wade’s said they have some questions about the state law, like whether business days apply to the store’s business days or the government’s business days. But they have not been able to find a state agency claiming to be in charge of interpretation and enforcement.

Lenihan said he does not have any criminal history and simply wanted the gun for protection.

But in learning about the law, he said, “That’s wrong. I mean, I don’t care what they say, or how they say it. I’m for the second amendment, but they need to do a check. They can’t let me walk out of the store with a killing machine.”

The owner of Pinto’s gun shop in Renton, Diana Pinto, said the background check is always requested and being executed. The only issue is whether it’s complete within the time frame.

She said typically, denials come back very quickly, letting the dealer know not to sell the firearm to that customer. But sometimes it can take an hour, days, or weeks.

While some shops may do things differently, Pinto said her store does not sell handguns until the background checks are resolved.

“It’s our name on our license, and I’m not going to do anything to risk it,” Pinto said.

She said she can easily call local law enforcement to see why it’s taking longer. She can usually get an answer and a completed background check relatively soon.

But with long guns, that background check is conducted federally with NICS, and checking in with them is not so easy.

“They’re very short staffed and they’re busy. And so we can’t call them as easily to say, ‘what’s the status?’” she said.

So her policy is to sell the long gun to the customer after the 10-day wait.

Pinto said it is always a possibility that the wrong person walks away with a gun. But she said the chances are small, because she only finds once or twice a month that the federal background checks aren’t done in time.

As for the possibility of someone buying a gun, only to have a background check come back later to say ‘deny,’ she said it has happened before.

“I’ve asked them, ‘what happens now?’ And they said ATF or local law pays them a visit,” she said.

Pinto tells her staff never to sell a gun to someone if they have doubts. She said they use instinct about the person’s demeanor when they come into the shop. They do not sell to anyone who seems to have consumed alcohol, drugs, or who may have mental health issues.

Cox Media Group