Second Amendment advocates in Washington state are preparing potential legal action after thousands of gun sales have been delayed due to an ongoing court computer system outage that has prevented the completion of mandatory background checks.
The state’s Administrative Office of the Courts announced on November 4 that its network had been taken offline due to “unauthorized activity,” without providing additional details. The outage has disrupted local court operations, including the processing of case filings, and has rendered the Washington State Patrol (WSP) unable to conduct the background checks required for firearm sales throughout the month of November.
“In 10 years of operation… this is unprecedented for me at any level, state or federal,” Daniel Mitchell, a gun store owner in Vancouver, told Fox News. “We’ve never seen a shutdown that’s gone this long.”
The WSP typically handles between 400 and 1,000 background checks per day. A spokesperson for the agency acknowledged to Fox News that the current issues are “frustrating for everyone.”
“Unfortunately, in this situation, there are no work-arounds or detours. Good people are working around the clock to get the system fixed, safe to use, and up and going. Patience is really our only option,” said WSP spokesperson Chris Loftis.
The delays have prompted an outcry from Second Amendment advocates, who argue that the extended inability to process background checks constitutes an infringement on citizens’ rights. “The state has denied untold numbers of citizens their right to obtain firearms for almost two weeks,” said Second Amendment Foundation Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb in a statement. “This amounts to a mass deprivation of civil rights under color of law.”
State officials have projected that the system will be operational again next week. However, even after the system is restored, they anticipate a significant backlog of background checks, potentially causing further delays. Compounding the issue, a state law that went into effect earlier this year imposes a 10-day waiting period on gun sales. As a result, gun dealers were initially unaware of the extent of the outage.
Mitchell highlighted another potential complication: the expiration of federal paperwork required for firearm purchases.
“The federal paperwork that customers fill out that’s required for all firearms purchases, those time out at 30 days,” he explained. “And then you have to start the whole process over.”
