Virginia State Police "instant" background check delays

[Sheriff]

and still waiting.... The dealer said he can release it Monday if he doesn't hear anything before then. I didn't even know this was an option.

The center has 72 "business" hours (Monday thru Friday) to give a gun dealer an answer, either YES or NO. If no answer is given, the gun dealer can release the firearm to you. But it doesn't end there. If a person has purchased a firearm illegally, a trooper will still be hunting them down like a rabid dog no matter what the gun dealer does when not receiving an answer from the call center.

Some dealers won't honor the 72 hour clause though. They hold the firearm until they get a YES answer.

 

[TFred]

The center has 72 "business" hours (Monday thru Friday) to give a gun dealer an answer, either YES or NO. If no answer is given, the gun dealer can release the firearm to you. But it doesn't end there. If a person has purchased a firearm illegally, a trooper will still be hunting them down like a rabid dog no matter what the gun dealer does when not receiving an answer from the call center.

Some dealers won't honor the 72 hour clause though. They hold the firearm until they get a YES answer.

Maybe I'm just dumb, but if they are open for business on Saturday and Sunday for processing retail store and gun show sales, how can they claim that their business hours are only Monday through Friday?

TFred

 

[tkd2006]

Maybe I'm just dumb, but if they are open for business on Saturday and Sunday for processing retail store and gun show sales, how can they claim that their business hours are only Monday through Friday?

TFred

A business day refers to a day the courts are open. Weekends and holidays are not considered business days so they do not count on the 3 days of research for firearm delays.

 

[TFred]

A business day refers to a day the courts are open. Weekends and holidays are not considered business days so they do not count on the 3 days of research for firearm delays.

So what you are saying is that the widely acclaimed VSP firearms background check program has never been on the hook or even made the claim that they would provide a reasonable "point of sale" turn-around time for any store or business that is open on the weekends. Why did the retail gun dealers ever agree to this?

Sounds to me like we've found a "Weekend Loophole" that needs to be shut down!

TFred

 

[tkd2006]

So what you are saying is that the widely acclaimed VSP firearms background check program has never been on the hook or even made the claim that they would provide a reasonable "point of sale" turn-around time for any store or business that is open on the weekends. Why did the retail gun dealers ever agree to this?

Sounds to me like we've found a "Weekend Loophole" that needs to be shut down!

TFred

TFred Maybe you should ask questions instead of making snide comments. What my comment was about is a firearm transaction that goes to extended delay because there is a missing disposition or an assault that needs victim information this is the 3 business days i was talking about. They are able to complete about 98% of the transactions entered on the same day, the remaining 2% go to research and that is where the extended delays come from. However at the current time they do not have the people to keep up.

 

[Chaingun81]

When I had my Green Card, I was always delayed. Apparently they had to call immigration and manually clear it with them. I also had to show my Green Card along with other documents. However, it never took more than a couple of hours. I think the fastest I've ever been approved was when I bought my AK-47 - it only took about 30 minutes and the longest took about 2 hours. It's funny that AK was so fast out of all guns, since it's the most "evil" looking one. I guess since I'm Russian it went through quickly. ;-)

Nearly all my purchases were done at a local store, on Saturdays, and I've never been delayed to the next day. I already had a routine down when I go in, inspect the firearm, fill out the paperwork, go out for lunch and come back to pick it up. I knind of expected it to be always the process for me since I wasn't born here, so imagine my surprise when I came in to by my first gun since I became a Naturialized Citizen and was just ready to head to lunch when they approved me on the spot. Ever since then I've been approved almost immideately nearly every time. I got delayed once, but that was on Saturday, at the very end of the gun show, and the delay was only 15-20 minutes or so.

Being an immigrant, I have a fairly rare name for the US and I also put my SSN down, so maybe that speeds up the process as well. But, I guess you never know. I don't understand why I get approved faster than some natural born members of LE or Military with a security clearance. I'm not complaining, but it doesn't seem fair to me...

 

[speed41ae]

I am almost always delayed a day. This is a issue for a lot of buyers and dealers and should be fixed.

 

[Glockster]

FWIW, picked up two out of state transfers at an FFL today, DL and of course my CHP for ID, and they had immediate approval. I asked and they said the only problems they've seen lately was for military folks with security clearances taking longer.

 

[Sheriff]

I asked and they said the only problems they've seen lately was for military folks with security clearances taking longer.

This is almost the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

I believe them if they say it, but it sure doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

 

[Stanley]

Strange. I bought my XD-40 last Monday. Took all of 10 minutes. Heck, filling out the paperwork took longer.

Shrug. Though when I was in the store on Friday they said the system had been down for a bit...

 

[Glockster]

This is almost the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

I believe them if they say it, but it sure doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

With things like this I've pretty much given up on passing judgement on whether or not something sounds dumb when dumb becomes almost routine. But this FFL sells a lot to SEALs and such, who have clearances. And they said that whenever a SEAL (or such) tries to make a purchase they always take much longer. I myself don't know a thing about it other than what they said, and that mine went through immediately. If I were to make an uneducated guess (not knowing any other facts) I wondered if it is a case of something to do with using their DoD ID cards as identification (out of state resident purchase by DoD personnel and all that) -- not knowing how that is processed and who exactly they have to go to for verification of that. But that's just a SWAG.

 

[MSC 45ACP]

I would think (almost logically) that having a security clearance would make it FASTER since the government has placed "Special Trust" in the individual. WHY does it take longer? I've been retired since 2005 and my clearance hasn't been actively used since 2006.

It STILL takes at least an hour (sometimes 3 or 4) to get 'permission' to buy a new gun... rifle or pistol.

{Shaking my head}

mike

 

[Thundar]

A business day refers to a day the courts are open. Weekends and holidays are not considered business days so they do not count on the 3 days of research for firearm delays.

That is not exactly correct. The Gun Control Act says 3 days when state offices, not courthouses, are open. The state law says the VSP will be open to do the check every day of the year except for Christmas Day. The Virginia Firearms Dealers Handbook says that for Virginia business days are Monday-Friday except for Commonwealth holidays. I wrote to the VSP Firearms people and asked why. They said it was a decision of the VSP Commandant.

 

[peter nap]

I would think (almost logically) that having a security clearance would make it FASTER since the government has placed "Special Trust" in the individual. WHY does it take longer? I've been retired since 2005 and my clearance hasn't been actively used since 2006.

It STILL takes at least an hour (sometimes 3 or 4) to get 'permission' to buy a new gun... rifle or pistol.

{Shaking my head}

mike

Thinkabout it Mike.
The Government ties a few strings to that trust they give people. They want to know if you're being booked for buying/selling drugs or writing bad checks.

The check doesn't have a special buying a gun code, it's just a check. Your name is tagged to notify the responsible agency and depending on the type of clearence you have, it may get held up for review.

The Government spends a considerable amount of effort looking for red flags.

 

[mrt6812]

I bought one on Saturday and was just called today telling me it went through this morning.

 

[Red Dawg]

Well, after reading all ya'lls issues, there is no way of making any sense of why there are delays. I've bought as Active military, with a TS Clearance; as retired, with TS clearance. I've used all my id's as 1st/2nd id, interchangeably. I've bought at Big stores, little stores, and pawn shops. I've never waited more than 1/2 hour. Wife waited an hour for a long gun, and I thought that odd. I guess there is no one answer as to why it takes longer, or shorter other than a human in the loop approving them. It depends on how busy the guy(s) is/are.

 

[celticredneck]

A friend of mine was just delayed 4 days while purchasing a .22 rifle. I thought Va had an instant background check, not a 4 day waiting period.

 

[DrMark]

I just filled out paperwork to buy a AR lower this morning. Delayed. (funny, dealers always then ask about security clearances; many believe there's a link)

Day 1

For a state with a reported "pro-gun" climate, the state government has done a pretty good job of enacting a multi-day waiting period for many purchasers.

I suspect that next year, ditching VA's system for the one that works (NICS) will be much higher on my "bills to push" list.

 

[tkd2006]

grass always looks greener on the otherside of the fence.

 

[ocholsteroc]

I just filled out paperwork to buy a AR lower this morning. Delayed. (funny, dealers always then ask about security clearances; many believe there's a link)

Day 1

For a state with a reported "pro-gun" climate, the state government has done a pretty good job of enacting a multi-day waiting period for many purchasers.

I suspect that next year, ditching VA's system for the one that works (NICS) will be much higher on my "bills to push" list.

Gun shows this morning, I know things get very slow...