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GUN PURCHASES Some gun buyers wait months for 'instant' background checks Some gun buyers wait several months for 'instant' background checks Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman Posted Mar. 12, 2016 at 2:00 AM Updated Mar 12, 2016 at 11:40 AM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman Posted Mar. 12, 2016 at 2:00 AM Updated Mar 12, 2016 at 11:40 AM » Social News Rod Gunn spied an A17 semi-automatic rifle on the shelf at Black Bird Shopping Center and thought it would be a nice gun for shooting gophers and other varmints around his rural Gold Hill residence. So he filled out the background check application and waited a few minutes for it to be approved. That was Dec. 2, and Gunn still doesn't have his gun, nor does he know what's holding up his background check. He's not a convicted felon nor a nut case, and his past gun purchases have gone through without a hiccup, Gunn says. "I can't fathom for the life of me why I've been on hold so long," Gunn says. "My name's Rod Gunn. Maybe that's a red flag." Gun dealers say red flags are flying early, often and for what seems to them to be inordinately extended periods of time for would-be gun owners such as Gunn, whose state background checks remain classified as "pending," leaving the sale in limbo. Black Bird has 14 other guns sales on hold dating back as far as Thanksgiving, with the guns sitting in store safes and no money exchanging hands until the background checks get approved, the most that West Medford store has ever had, store manager Casey Hubbard says. At Good Guys Guns in Medford, there are 37 pending background checks dating back to October "and that's just on handguns," owner Jim Kincaid says. "We have that many long guns in back. "There's close to $50,000 tied up here that we can't do anything with," he says. "The guns are tied up. The money's tied up. It's a pain." Oregon State Police, which is charged with doing background checks, has remained mum on the backlog. Officials did not respond to questions asking whether the backlog has increased recently and if so, why. OSP's Firearms Instant Check System Unit handled 262,835 background check transactions in 2015, and all but 2,135 — or 0.8 percent — were approved, according to the unit's 2015 report. Of the denied purchases, three-fourths were because the applicant was a convicted felon, with the rest a mix of wanted people, stolen guns and mental-health issues, the report states. In 94 to 96 percent of the background checks, the applications are approved or denied within a few minutes, according to information provided by OSP spokesman Lt. Bill Fugate. The remainder are placed into a "pend" or "delay" status based on the applicant's past criminal record, missing details or incomplete information. The time it takes to complete the check varies significantly depending upon the type of record needed, the age of the record and the time it takes other agencies to respond to OSP's request. State and federal laws say the stores can sell a gun after three business days if the background check is not yet approved. But dealers say the liability in doing so is too great. "If I hand a gun to one of these guys and he goes out and commits a crime, it goes back onto the dealer," Hubbard says. A gun's serial number is tied to the background check, so guns can't be swapped out and sold to a customer who passes the background check. Dealers and applicants say they are not told why their background checks are taking so long, but OSP does give dealers estimates on when they believe the checks will be completed. "The more guns people buy, their background checks seem to go faster," Black Bird's Hubbard says. Good Guy's owner says he's seen the opposite with a longtime customer whose checks get flagged with every purchase. When his initial application was not approved, Gunn says he thought he somehow filled out the application incorrectly. Those who do usually get a letter sent to them regarding the application, but Gunn says he hasn't received one. Gunn grew up in Klamath Falls, then spent 24 years in Alaska before returning to Oregon about 2½ years ago. He says he has close to a dozen other firearms, and the A17 was meant to be "more of a want instead of a need" purchase. "We got a lot of gophers and moles," Gunn says. "We'll use it to pick off the critters once I get it. "I still want it," he says. "Hope I get it." Reach Mail Tribune reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman Posted Mar. 12, 2016 at 2:00 AM Updated Mar 12, 2016 at 11:40 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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