TICS checks for warrants
Things I did not now. A reader emailed this a bit back and was taken to task in the comments. He has since sent an update:
So I sent you the basis for the post last year, and everyone called bullshit on it in the comments. I was with Dennis@Dragon last night and he told me that in TN when the FFL does a Background Check, they do it through TICS, which coordinates with NICS, but TICS also looks for outstanding warrants. If there is a warrant, they tell the dealer to stall the buyer while they contact the local PO PO.
So that is what I saw happen last year at the show, its not a NICS deal, but it is a TICS deal. It may be that way in some other states too.
Just wanted to give you an update!
So, not the NICS but rather Tennessee’s system.
November 3rd, 2014 at 8:49 pm
CO is the same way… I’ve seen it while shopping at my local brick and mortar.
November 3rd, 2014 at 9:23 pm
Tennessee sucks.
It’s really shitty of your state to force FFLs to be part of the police apparatus. Denial to buy a gun, sure. Stalling them until the cops get there? That’s bullshit.
November 4th, 2014 at 3:31 am
This is what happens when you allow government to license or tax things. 🙁
November 4th, 2014 at 4:08 am
(This is what happens when you government)
November 4th, 2014 at 10:11 am
+1 for PA
I had the popo come and snatch someone who was trying to buy a pistol. He had a warrant for failure to appear for his 3rd DUI.
Doesn’t bother me in the least.
November 4th, 2014 at 11:26 am
People really don’t understand how the system works.
MD, VA and many other states can (and do) perform the same. Look up “NICS Point of Contact” (POC) states for more info. Both VA and MD are POC states, and that means the staties run the checks before you buy. NICS is only one part of the background check.
In MD, the equivalent system does checks in 20+ systems, and NICS is but one of them. Warrants are checked, as are mental health commissions and similar court mental health orders. VA does the background checks centrally and also checks multiple systems. I have been at VA gun shows where they announced the state system was once again delayed because of a gun show, and that background checks would probably take at least a day because the state police were woefully behind on staffing and technology – even though NICS was still responding in seconds.
If someone wants to call bullshit, I’ll gladly send Uncle the paper written by the some state police on how the whole thing works.
I got issues with some states like MD taking too much time (they got a 10 day wait for handguns, which is BS), but I have no problem with warrants being checked and people getting taken off the street. If they are rightfully prohibited and meant to be in jail, then by all means I don’t want them buying guns or wandering about.
VA eventually fixed their system, partly because the gun show promoters gave every patron of the shows information and told them to call their state reps to get the system fixed.
November 4th, 2014 at 4:12 pm
Same thing in PA. When I worked in a gun shop I was once on a call with PICS awaiting a status. It dragged on and on, but every once in a while the button pusher on the other end would come back and say something like “the system is really slow today, give me a few more minutes”. After about 20 minutes, 2 uniformed officers entered the shop and walked up to the customer and asked for him by name. He turned around and said “that’s me”, which was followed by officer number one saying “Turn around and put your hands behind your back”. When the PICS button pusher came back on she started to give me an excuse which I interrupted and informed her “I think I know why I’ve been on hold so long. The cops are here and just took the customer into custody”.
They never told me why I was on hold or asked me to stall, they just stalked me until the PD showed up.
The worst part of it is that the dealer still gets to pay the PICS fee, on a denial and will never get that cost credited.
I’d be more okay with the state pulling shenanigans like this if it wasn’t only done at gun shops. If your going to check for warrants, do it at the driver’s license center, the social security office, etc. too.
November 4th, 2014 at 5:40 pm
Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it. It also might come back to bite you in the fanny some day.