Caribou Gear

30 Day Background Check

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) reintroduced legislation that would grant extra time to federal officials to complete background checks on gun purchasers, saying that it would be a “good first step.”
 
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) reintroduced legislation that would grant extra time to federal officials to complete background checks on gun purchasers, saying that it would be a “good first step.”
If we can attempt to keep this a reasonable discussion.

I'm on the fence on this one. I've never been in a position where I had to purchase a firearm quickly. I apply for hunts, months in advance and usually have my gear dialed long before I'm hitting the road.

I can see a gun being lost or destroyed on a hunt and needing to get a quick replacement or perhaps a last minute opportunity.

Generally speaking I'm just not a spur of the moment purchaser of anything, I bug people on the forum about stuff like tents years before I actually buy one.

Aside from the "it's my right" argument, which I understand and am not debating, what other parts of this issue am I missing, what's in my blind spot?
 
Should be all the argument needed. But of course ymmv.
I feel like we've had the constitutional lesson on restrictions on rights enough that we can table that side of the discussion.

I understand what reality is and I understand how frustrated people are about how laws work so I'm not really interested in that.

I am interested in hearing about circumstances and opinions that I have not yet considered.
 
30 days is excessive. We live in a world where I can fly to the other side of the planet, whip out a visa card and buy whatever I want, and the transaction is instantly vetted to determine if I have the credit available to cover the purchase. But the government can't figure out if I have a criminal record (with the government) which disqualifies me from firearms ownership for a month?

Fix the system.
 
If we can attempt to keep this a reasonable discussion.

I'm on the fence on this one. I've never been in a position where I had to purchase a firearm quickly. I apply for hunts, months in advance and usually have my gear dialed long before I'm hitting the road.

I can see a gun being lost or destroyed on a hunt and needing to get a quick replacement or perhaps a last minute opportunity.

Generally speaking I'm just not a spur of the moment purchaser of anything, I bug people on the forum about stuff like tents years before I actually buy one.

Aside from the "it's my right" argument, which I understand and am not debating, what other parts of this issue am I missing, what's in my blind spot?
Domestic violence victims, a person with a PPO against a violent offender, a home owner who’s house was broke into. Any one of these is reason enough.
 
30 days is excessive. We live in a world where I can fly to the other side of the planet, whip out a visa card and buy whatever I want, and the transaction is instantly vetted to determine if I have the credit available to cover the purchase. But the government can't figure out if I have a criminal record (with the government) which disqualifies me from firearms ownership for a month?

Fix the system.
DMV, Passport office, applying for hunting licenses.

Have you ever checked your county or state clerk's office for records?

A substantial portion of my career has been in building databases and then extracting records from them. I can't tell you how the NICS database works, but I can tell you that building a system that manages 30,000 lessors for companies is a chore.
 
“I am interested in hearing about circumstances and opinions I have not yet considered” !

Being without knowledge of what you have not considered, most pro gun advocates are concerned with legislation that is only implemented for the purpose of making gun ownership more difficult for the legal purchase ! The longer wait period is only another step to close the door on these purchases..........
 
DMV, Passport office, applying for hunting licenses.

Have you ever checked your county or state clerk's office for records?

A substantial portion of my career has been in building databases and then extracting records from them. I can't tell you how the NICS database works, but I can tell you that building a system that manages 30,000 lessors for companies is a chore.
DMV, passport, and hunting license applications are not a component of NICS. Clerk's records are not a component of NICS.

But those also substantiate the point. Why does it take months to get a passport? It's ridiculous. Should we just add more delay to NICS, or fix the system?

I suggest we fix the system instead of accepting the status quo and just adding more delay, which can negatively affect people who might need access to firearms quickly.
 
DMV, passport, and hunting license applications are not a component of NICS. Clerk's records are not a component of NICS.

But those also substantiate the point. Why does it take months to get a passport? It's ridiculous. Should we just add more delay to NICS, or fix the system?

I suggest we fix the system instead of accepting the status quo and just adding more delay, which can negatively affect people who might need access to firearms quickly.
Those were just examples of similar government offices that often have long delays.

Passport office is a great example actually, you can get a passport in day. I got one in 4 hours once, but on average it takes much long and that's due to the volume.

To the NICS, with a system like that you have a ton of data inputs, they may not be uniform as laws and competency differ by jurisdiction, this data then has to go into a huge system where it's consolidated. Then you have to make it easy to retrieve at high volume but also keep it secure, social security numbers/DBOs etc.

Complex problem.
 
advocates are concerned with legislation that is only implemented for the purpose of making gun ownership more difficult for the legal purchase !
I am intimately familiar with this tactic, in my mind there is disputing it exists.

Took me, 9 months from start to finish to get a license to posses a firearm in the state of MA. Whole pile of hoops and BS that seemed explicitly designed to discourage folks from exercising their rights.
 
Agreed, the issue is complex. But I still feel fixing the complex problem is a far better solution than instituting additional delays to accommodate the issues. A more efficient and effective NICS benefits everyone. But it's harder to do.
Yeah absolutely, my point is if I'm writing a letter to Michael Bennet I want to have a brief but well reasoned argument.

I'm asking for a discussion to help further that end. I will be writing a letter and making phone calls, as I did on Rep Jackson Lee's bill, I'm working on how I want to frame things up.

Given the nature of life it seems like 30 days is a pretty standard "get stuff done time frame".

Comparing to the DMV, I've never left a DMV without a license, but it has taken me around 30 days at time to get an appointment at a DMV.
 
A couple of years ago in California, my rifle purchase took over a month on the background check. Then, last year I needed California compliant ammo after California instituted the background check on ammo. That purchase was instantaneous.

They can "fix the system" if they wanted to, but Clyburn's proposal just seems like another attempt at controlling people. It also comes across as "if we can get away with this, maybe we can go a little further." I.e., this is the beginning of a slippery slope.
 
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