According to Firearm Chronicles
The NICS background check system has had a rough couple of years. First, we learned how it failed to flag the Sutherland Springs shooter, someone who had been dishonorably discharged from the Air Force. That led to the Fix NICS legislation that passed with bipartisan support.
Now, the system is bogged down with requests after back-to-back months of record-setting sales. A ton of people want guns, people who have never had a gun before, and that means background checks, especially since new gun owners likely don’t have a concealed carry permit.
Unfortunately, with the system bogged down, a lot of people are trying to take advantage of that and hope they can slide through, picking up a gun after the three-day wait but before a failed check can make it back to the gun store.
Because of that, a couple of Republican senators want to beef up the system to handle the increased load.
A number of Republican Senators are looking to bolster the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS])after back-to-back record-setting sales months in March and April. “In response to the pandemic, millions of Americans practicing safe social distancing have lined up outside of firearm retailers in order to purchase firearms. The resulting record-breaking surge has placed significant pressure on the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS), which helps to ensure that criminals and other prohibited persons cannot gain access to firearms,” Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray this week. More than two-dozen other Senators also signed on.