Back in 1998, when the National Instant Check System (NICS) law was passed, its opponents eventually realized they would lose. As a result, they very cleverly managed to include a provision in the law allowing gun retailers to proceed with transferring a gun to a buyer after three days if the NICS system hasn’t issued instructions to stop or proceed with the sale.
The motivation for the provision was the realization that if the government ever wanted to stop purchases without going through the legislative process, all it had to do was shut down or slow NICS checks, leaving buyers with no choice but to wait until a sale was approved—if it ever was. Consequently, the three-day wait limit has allowed many purchasers to take possession of their firearm without undue waiting, despite the fact that their purchase wasn’t exactly “instant.”
Anti-gun Democrats in Congress don’t see it that way, though. Instead, they refer to the three-day provision as the “Charleston Loophole,” and try to do away with it at every turn.
Recently, gun-ban advocate Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, introduced a measure that would permit a purchase to be delayed indefinitely if the NICS system doesn’t respond, even if the buyer isn’t prohibited from buying a firearm. Joining Sen. Blumenthal on the so-called “Background Check Completion Act” are prominent gun-ban supporters, including “seditious” U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, who recently called for U.S. service members to disobey orders they didn’t like.
“This loophole is a massive gateway to dangerous evasion of the background check rules,” Sen. Blumenthal said in a news release announcing the legislation. “If you haven’t passed a background check, you shouldn’t be able to purchase a weapon. No check, no gun. It’s really that simple.”
What Sen. Blumenthal and other sponsors of the bill won’t discuss is the fact that their legislation could be used to shut down gun sales when a less gun-friendly administration takes over. Instead, they make it sound like an important step, even though it’s a solution looking for a problem.
“As a gun owner, a combat veteran, and the husband of a gun violence survivor, I know how important strong gun laws are to keeping Americans safe,” Sen. Kelly bragged. “If someone hasn’t passed a background check, they shouldn’t be able to buy a gun just because the clock ran out. Closing this loophole is about protecting communities and the rights of responsible gun owners while making sure criminals and domestic abusers don’t slip through the cracks.”
Gun-ban stalwart Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, is, unsurprisingly, another sponsor of the measure.
“It’s unconscionable that more than 10 years after the horrific mass shooting inside Emanual AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina—and tragically many more since—we still have not taken action to require background checks to help prevent guns from getting into dangerous hands,” Sen. Schiff said in a news release from his office. “Today, I’m proud to co-sponsor this legislation to finally close the ‘Charleston loophole’ which allows people with criminal backgrounds to access firearms.
Ultimately, if the FBI can’t complete a NICS check, in which the “I” stands for “Instant,” in three days, sales should be able to proceed. Don’t let Democrats hoodwink you into believing this measure would close some sort of “loophole.” In reality, it could, under a future anti-gun administration, result in completely removing the “I” from NICS, making it just a National Check System with no limits on how long a lawful gun purchaser would have to wait to receive his or her firearm.