Albany, New York –-(Ammoland.com)- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a mandatory 30-day waiting period for a purchase of a gun when the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) doesn’t instantly approve the buyer.
“For too long gun violence has plagued communities across our nation and while the federal government turns a blind eye, New York continues leading the way forward to protect our families and our children,” Cuomo said in a statement at the bill’s signing.
Contrary to the name, NICS is not always instant.
When a gun dealer runs the background on the buyer of a firearm, the system will return one of three results. Approval means the buyer passed the background check. Denied says the purchaser failed the background check.
The third result, delayed, means that the FBI needs more time to complete the check. The delay could be for any number of reasons. One of the most common causes of a delay is because the buyer has a common name. Chris Johnson is a name that usually gets a person delayed.
Now gun buyers in the Empire State will face delays up to 30 days for the NICS shortcomings. Under the current law, dealers have to wait for three days before completing the sale of a firearm to a customer if the FBI still has not completed the background check.
Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, D-Queens sponsored the bill. He believes that the new waiting period will save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of those that are ineligible to own firearms.
“Common sense gun safety reform will save lives, period. Stronger background checks will keep guns away from dangerous people,” Gianaris said at the signing ceremony.
Another of the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, said that the FBI needs more time to complete background checks, and the current time frame is insufficient.
“This law will build on our already strong gun laws by ensuring that law enforcement has sufficient time to complete a background check without impinging on the rights of law-abiding citizens,” Paulin said of the new law.
Lawmakers claimed the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina in 2015 inspired them to pass the bill. A white supremacist entered the church and murdered nine parishioners in cold blood.
The members of the New York legislator falsely claim that the shooter was able to buy the gun used before the FBI completed his background check. They claim if there were a 30-day delay, the FBI would have prevented the murderer from getting a handgun.
The truth is the FBI approved the purchase of the gun even though the killer was a prohibited person. He had a conviction on a felony drug charge. An unnamed FBI examiner turned up the arrest, but FBI did not have a record of the conviction. If South Carolina had a law similar to New York’s new law, it would have not prevented the shooting.
Cuomo also signed into law a second bill that bans the possession, manufacture, transportation, shipment, and sale of any items that accelerates the firing rate of firearms, rifles or shotguns.
The bill mostly concentrates on bump stocks and comes on the hills of the federal bump stock ban. Multiple gun rights groups are challenging the federal ban in the courts. The ATF changed the definition of a machine gun to avoid a showdown in Congress.
The New York legislature is using the Las Vegas shooting as justification as to why this law is needed. The Sen. Luis Sepúlveda, D-Bronx goes as far as calling devices that accelerate the rate of fire as “military weapons.”
There is absolutely no need for military-grade weaponry on the streets nor homes of New York,” said Sepúlveda.
The new law is vague when it comes to devices other than bump stocks. It leaves binary triggers and even match grade triggers in legal limbo. If no clarity is given on those items it could make citizens of New York unwitting felons overnight.
Both new laws will go into effect in 45 days from the signing.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on leftist deplatforming methods and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, on Facebook at realjohncrump, or at www.crumpy.com.