S.158 and S.159 create additional roadblocks to obtaining a firearm. When a firearms dealer performs a federal background check on a buyer or transferee through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), these bills would require a twenty-eight day wait for the check to come through. If the dealer has not been contacted by NICS within those twenty-eight days, the dealer may sell or transfer the firearm to the consumer. The penalty for violating this provision is a misdemeanor with up to three years in prison and/or a $1000 fine.
This is another attempt at “sensible gun reform” that only encroaches upon citizens exercising their Second Amendment right appropriately, instead of stopping the misuse of firearms from occurring.