SAF Threatens Legal Action Over Washington State Background Check Delays

Would-be gun buyers in the state of Washington have been stuck in a holding pattern, some for more than a week, after an issue with the state’s Secure Automated Firearms E-Check system run by the Washington State Patrol. 

According to the Second Amendment Foundation, the system has been “disabled” for at least a week and a half, which means retailers are unable to complete the background check required to purchase a firearm. 

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb described the situation as “simply unacceptable”, adding, “Washington State citizens have had their rights under the federal and state constitutions suspended, and we will take legal action if this isn’t solved immediately.”

The 2A group says it’s been inundated with calls from both would-be buyers and firearm retailers, who’ve been told that the state-run background check system has been offline because of “some type of network infiltration” at the Administrative Office of the Courts, which apparently involves the state’s Enterprise Data Repository that’s accessed by the SAFE system. 

That raises questions not only about the untenable delays gun buyers are facing, but the security of the information that’s a part of the Enterprise Data Repository. While there’s been no word of a data breach from state agencies, at least at this point, a “network infiltration” suggests that hackers may have gained access and/or control of the data collected by the state. 

Gottlieb says state law prevents the Washington State Patrol from using the federal NICS system as a replacement for the disabled SAFE system; a provision that’s left countless residents and retailers unable to complete their transactions. 

“As the saying goes, ‘A right delayed is a right denied,’ and the state has denied untold numbers of citizens their right to obtain firearms for almost two weeks,” Gottlieb pointed out. “This amounts to a mass deprivation of civil rights under color of law.” 

Gottlieb is absolutely correct. While it’s impossible to know just how many Washingtonians have been affected, we can get a rough idea by looking at the number of checks that are typically performed each month. According to Fox 13 in Seattle, there were 115,168 checks performed in the first three months of the year; an average of 38,389 each month, or about 1,300 per day. If the SAFE system has been down since November 1, a conservative estimate would be about 15,000 transfers that have not been completed over the past 12 days. 

I suspect the number is actually higher, however. January, February, and March are typically slower months for gun sales than October, November, and December, and in the wake of the election we’re seeing anecdotal reports of more folks on the left deciding now is the time for them to start exercising their Second Amendment rights. Given Washington’s blue tint, it’s reasonable to believe that there’s been an uptick in interest among Democrats in the state over the past week, even if they’ve been unable to complete their purchase. 

“The clock is ticking,” Gottlieb added. “When the system is restored, we expect the WSP to work day and night to expedite background checks already on hold. In the meantime, we are consulting with our attorneys to determine the proper course of action.”

The biggest problem with a lawsuit is that it’s not exactly a quick process. Even an emergency request for an injunction that would require the state to use NICS while the SAFE system is down could take a couple of weeks to be heard, and by that time the state-run background check system would hopefully be back up and running. 

Of course, we have no idea how long it will be before the State Patrol resumes conducting background checks, so litigation might very well be warranted. This is also a matter for the state legislature when lawmakers return to Olympia in just a few weeks. The SAFE system was billed as an improvement over using NICS, but if it’s not reliable then the state needs to come with a workable backup plan. As Gottlieb says, this is a mass deprivation of a fundamental civil right that we’re talking about, and it’s completely unacceptable that thousands of residents have been left in limbo for nearly two weeks.