The NSSF told Breitbart News the bill, the Enhanced Background Check Act of 2021, is sponsored by House Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and “could be on the floor as early as next week, bypassing House Judiciary altogether.”
This Bill Would Permit The FBI To Shutdown Gun Sales Anytime They Wish
To understand how this would be possible you first have to understand the current system. When you go to buy a firearm, the law requires a background check. The check normally takes about 30 minutes, often less. In a tiny number of cases, more time is required. The law currently gives the FBI three days to get it done. If they cannot clear the buyer in three days, they can deny the sale. The buyer then can appeal. Most appeals are indeed successful. However, if the FBI doesn’t give any answer in three days, the gun dealer MAY release the firearm to the buyer. Sadly, there have been cases where the FBI has screwed up, not given an answer, the dealer released the firearm, and the person was indeed prohibited. In one horrible case, the FBI screwed up and there was a mass shooting in a church. This has been called the “Charleston Loophole” by gun control groups.
Why Is There A Three Day Limit?
When the current background check bill was drafted, the NRA insisted on a time limit because without one, the president could simply order the FBI to stop processing background checks. Without a yes or no decision, the buyers could not appeal. Gun rights groups surely would appeal to the courts, but meanwhile gun sales would stop nationwide. To eliminate this abuse of the background check system, both sides agreed on a three day limit.
What This Bill Would Do
This bill extends the time the FBI has to complete the background check and issue a decision to “at least 10 business days”. This sounds reasonable – and if it was indeed a simple expansion of the time allowed to 10 days this would be something we could have a reasonable discussion about. The problem is that the bill says “at least 10 days” not “no more than 10 days”. In fact, the FBI could simply take the position that they have an unlimited amount of time to complete the background checks. This would likely result in both long delays for the average person and the ability to simply stop processing checks – stopping all gun sales nationwide.
What Should Our Goal Be?
I believe that our goal should be to change “at least 10 days” to “no more than 10 days”. This eliminates the major problem and we can then oppose passage of the weakened bill in the Senate. Without the unlimited time provision, they may drop the entire bill and try again next year.
What You Need To Do
Please email your Representative – even if they are pro-gun control - in opposition to the Enhanced Background Check Act of 2021. Demand that, as a bare minimum, a firm limit of 10 days be set to complete background checks. Many pro-gun control Democrats may respond to this objection by setting such a time limit. Write your own message or copy and paste the message below. Your Representative’s staff will be keeping track of the number of messages in opposition and generally what the concerns are.
You can email your Representative HERE
Step by step directions for doing so can be found HERE
You can add your name to GOA's petition HERE
You may email your Representative through the NRA-ILA System HERE
Sample Email You Can Copy And Paste If You Wish
Subject: Opposition to Enhanced Background Check Act of 2021
Message body:
I am writing in opposition to the Enhanced Background Check Act of 2021. Without any limit upon the time the FBI may take to conduct background checks, the process would certainly slow to a crawl. In addition, the FBI could completely shutdown gun sales by simply shutting down the background check unit. I am therefore opposed to any bill that does not include a hard time limit of 10 days or less to complete the background check.
Thank you for acting to protect our gun rights!
Rev. R. Vincent Warde
3-2-2021
