As you know, you can’t buy a gun without a dealer punching your particulars into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The good folks at the FBI run the system. If the federal government shuts down, it’s entirely possible that the NICS system will go dark. No NICS, no gun sales. Can you say backlog? We’ve contacted the feds and gun dealers to see whether or not we’re scare mongering. They’ve know NUTH-THINK! Meanwhile, ABC News reports that most federal law enforcement agencies—including the FBI and ATF—have been classified as “essential services”—which would not be suspended during a possible shutdown. So maybe we’re being a little alarmist, just to help Dave’s Guns. Check here for updates.

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14 COMMENTS

  1. A little off topic here but, doesn’t the term “Essential Services” show us exactly where the biggest wastes in government can be found? If a government service isn’t essential why the hell am I paying for it? If your boss told you that all non-essential employees could go home early, wouldn’t you make damn sure to stay ’til 5?

  2. “you can’t buy a gun without a dealer punching your particulars into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).”

    Not true – at least not here in AZ. Those who carry a current CCW license (yes – AZ does not require them, but you can still get one) only need to provide their CCW and driver’s license to purchase any non-NFA firearm without what I call the “NICS wait”. On busy days, particularly at large sportsman stores (e.g. Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, etc), you can end up waiting 3 hours on the ‘NICS wait’, basically because the stores phone lines get so clogged up with users that a “waiting list” develops. I try to avoid the large national stores most of the time, but every now and then they have a smoking deal (think Father’s Day Sales!).

    • Yep, pretty handy. Fill out the form, xerox your cards and pay. Never goes upstairs to the federal level though of course records of the sale are kept by the dealer.

  3. So a government shutdown could be in violation of allowing me to exercise my basic constitutional rights? Interesting.

  4. True, some state CCW licenses do allow ‘cash and carry’ but others don’t; it depends on the stringency of the background check the state conducts before issuing the CCW.

    And none of this helps non-CCW holders, or our friends in non-CCW states.

  5. All law enforcement arms of the federal gov’t are considered essential services during a shutdown of the government or “furlough” of federal employees. They aren’t the only ones, there are lots of other less glamorous agencies that will still have some employees that are exempt from the furlough. So, NICS checks “should” still be running, but then again in a gov’t that’s willing to put 800,000 people out on the street because “we all can’t just get along” who knows?

    • The fewer government employees drawing tax-payer funded cheques, the better! I say let those 800,000 tax feeders find a real job and start making a positive contribution to the economy. Come to think of it, let’s fire the whole lot.

  8. Yet another gov’t policy that has accomplished little or nothing… Have they even tried to investigate the denied individuals from NICS… I seriously doubt it.

  9. I think it’s fine. In Florida, we do background checks even if you have a CWP. I think it runs though the FDLE though, so I can’t imagine a goverment shutdown would prevent us from buying guns here in the Gunshine state!

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