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by srothstein
Sat Mar 21, 2020 6:08 pm
Forum: General Gun, Shooting & Equipment Discussion
Topic: So you want to buy a firearm during a pandemic
Replies: 52
Views: 21661

Re: So you want to buy a firearm during a pandemic

Scott B. wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 5:24 pmThe FBI is saying to go by their issued Brady Dates no matter what they are. They seem to be interpreting a claimed inability to complete a 'business day' because of some state offices being closed. What specific offices those are or what they have to do with a federal NICS check they're not saying. Nor is there any explanation why a day 3.5 weeks ahead is kosher but the statutory 3 biz days is not.
You got me curious so I went looking. The important question is the definition of three business days. Consider how many businesses are now closed by executive order for some unknown period. Anyway, it is defined in the law and it is not the definition you would think.

18 USC 922 (t) (1)(B)(ii) defines a business day as a say that state offices are open. I cannot find anything that limits it to the state you are located in, though I would think a court would probably hold that definition. On the FBI NICS information page, it says they go by the state of the transaction if the state is not one of the POC states. Texas is not a POC state, which means that our FFLs go to the FBI for the check instead of to a state office.

I know that our state offices are open for business since I have to go to work on Monday. Well sort of. My office is on a combination of skeleton crew and work from home. Most of us are working from home and only the minimum needed to meet with people coming in are actually in the office. My agency was fairly forward thinking and issued everyone laptops the last time we got computers instead of desktops because they want to push towards teleworking anyway. I don't know about DPS and if they did this.

This brings it down to (I am guessing here) that if DPS is maintaining full processing in their offices that the FBI would work with, we should get it in the normal three business days. I have no idea how DPS is doing now, but the fact that Gov. Abbott has extended car registrations (DMV) and driver's licenses (DPS) might be an indication that the offices are on reduced staff. That might be enough for the FBI to justify an extended check.

As was mentioned by someone else, this is a great reason to have an LTC now.

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