88 Day NICS Denials and the Biden Pistol Ban

By Alex Madajian

BACKGROUND: ATF Forms must always be filed, completed, and approved and a unique federal tax stamp must always be issued prior to the manufacture or transfer of a “firearm” under the National Firearms Act (NFA). This includes Short-barreled Rifles (SBR), Short-barreled Shotguns (SBS), and Any Other Weapons (AOW). In the case of the Biden Pistol Ban,(i) the ATF purports that everyone’s braced pistols are instead illegal and unregistered SBRs or similar. Therefore, ATF is offering 120 days of “enforcement discretion” and free registration for these already made unregistered so-called NFA firearms.(ii)
Existing 88 Day Timer Resulted in over 1.1 Million Background Check Denials
During the NFA approval process, ATF runs a background check through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). However, ATF bureaucrats often run out the clock and fail to process paperwork in a timely manner. Sometimes, certain background records may be incomplete or old investigations were never closed or otherwise lack a disposition, and FBI may not be able to determine whether an individual is prohibited in 88 days.
If the bureaucrat fails to complete the background check within 88 days after initiation, ATF’s system automatically denies the applicant. Because the gun owner is now treated as having

Source: Gun Owners of America