My name is Matt Janes. My wife and I own Second Amendment Sports. We are Tucson residents. We also own two other shops in California, besides the shop in Tucson. I am an avid hunter and proponent of our civil liberties. We have two daughters. One is a graduated from UofA with a bachelor's degree and works with us in the company. The other served 4.5 years with the Army and now is a civilian working on boats in Savannah, Georgia. With that background in place, now let me address the original post's concerns and other's speculation.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) requires all Federally licensed dealers (FFL) to perform a background check on all firearm purchases regardless of state. In the case of Arizona residents, background checks are performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and is commonly referred to as the National Instant Check System (NICS), based in Martinsburg, West Virgina. This system was put in place by the Brady Bill years ago. The great State of Arizona has no laws in respects to this issue, nor do they become involved. Except for the fact that if you are the bearer of a Concealed Weapon Permit (CWP), you may bypass the NICS process, since your background has already been cleared by the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS).
NICS checks happen at the point of purchase. For the most part, FFL's call NICS and give them the information provided to us by the client on their Form 4473. This is the piece of paper you fill out when you make an application to purchase a firearm. CWP bearers still fill out the form, but that is all. All CWP applications are then immediately proceeded. However, if we call NICS on an application, and a client's background can not be understood to be clear or not by a level 1 clearance operator, it is placed as a "delay" status, pending further review. Proceeds on delayed status can take 5 minutes, or they can take a month. But the initial application is only good for 30 days. Many delay status' never receive a "proceed" notification from NICS. That is why after three BUSINESS days, if an FFL does not receive notification of proceed or deny from NICS, they may dispose the firearm to the client. Others may be immediately denied at that point if their background is confirmed to be that of a prohibited possessor. Denials may be appealed, but they take a very long time to work out, and the time frame varies a great deal.
Now on to our store's policy. We are told by the ATF that we have the right to choose who we do business with. We also have the responsibility to identify our client. We also bear the civil liability of improper actions with product purchased from our store. We are also told by the ATF that we are not obligated to dispose of a firearm on delay until it has proceeded. However, we all know that all governmental entities are pleading right now that they are "under staffed and overworked". And regardless of your opinion on that matter, they still are going to work at their pace. Now without naming any names, I guarantee you that there are many popular merchants in Arizona that do not dispose of any firearm unless your delay status has been proceeded. FFL's who choose to dispose of delayed transactions prior to receiving proceed status from NICS accept a HUGE civil liability. I guarantee that if we release a firearm on a delayed status before we receive a proceed notification, and that person uses it for ill intent, we are going to be sued. Now everyone knows that you can win the battle, but loose the war. So the intent for Second Amendment Sports to extend the delay to 10 TOTAL days, is to win the war. And sometimes you have to play it smart instead of passionate to when the war. When that nasty attorney grills me on the witness stand about our policies and procedures (because over a matter of time, it will not be if, but when), I don't want to be the dumb butt sitting there explaining to the jury that "we do the bare minimum to identify our client and give NICS the opportunity to respond to verify the eligibility of our client". Now why did we pick 10 total days vs. 3 business days some may continue to ask? It isn't because we have shops in California. I hate the Brady bill. I hate the California way of doing things. I think it proposes that we are all guilty before we are proven innocent. However, elected officials both at State and Federal levels have screwed us all on that deal. I personally feel that civil liberties are things we are born with, and that is why I named our shop what it is. Unless you are a proponent of slavery, anything less than that makes us bondmen. I also feel that God made man, and Sam Colt made them equal. And government does not make me be good. I choose that. And I choose to make my own way on earth. But there are too many people that feel like they need to be "protected" in life. That we need to be safe and secure. I call shenanigans. But I digress. We chose 10 total days, because we have found that 99.9% of the proceeds/denies will come within that time frame. Once in a great while, a deny will come after that 10 days, and we have to call local law enforcement to go track down that firearm. We don't want firearms going to the wrong hands. So like most policies and procedures, they make it inconvenient for all, with the actions of few. But they are put in place for a reason. I got delayed on every firearm purchase I made. So I got a CWP, and I walk with every gun that day now. Most people in their life continually are one way or another; delays or proceeds. So typically, if you get delayed, be prepared to be delayed the rest of your gun buying life. Lastly, we post with a sign that all delays can take up to 10 days to process. We also explain it to clients when they are delayed, that it can take 10 minutes or 10 days, but we will call you when you are proceeded. Then later we have clients that get impatient, forget that we told them "10 minutes or 10 days", and want us to break our policies and procedures because they want their firearm now. I get it, but if at the initial point of purchase, you said at that point "I don't want to wait 10 days, give me my money back", we would. But if you walk out that door, we assume you understood and are good to go. Then we re-order the firearm we just sold to you so we won't be out of stock. Then you come back in with a changed mind and want your money back, well who is going to pay for the gun coming to replace the one I sold you? We have to carry the additional inventory carrying burden. That is why there is a restock fee on a gun that never leaves. If you haven't ever been in business for yourself, and had to carry an inventory of something, you may never understand, or want to understand this principal. However, it is a real issue.
Now you know why we do what we do, and how it gets done. I think it is fair. We have the largest volume shop in Southern Arizona. We try to provide value, honesty and service with every client interaction we are involved with. Each store has a General Manager who is empowered to act in your behalf. You could actually look at him as your advocate if you will, to do just about anything he legally can for you. He wants you to be happy. He wants you to get your gun in a timely fashion. But if you go at him with a demanding attitude and think that he will reward negative behavior, you are mistaken. And if you think for one minute that I am a principle of a company that does not interact with, or know my client base, think again. My personal email address is mjanes@2ndamendmentsports.com If for whatever reason, you feel like there is something you didn't get a square deal on, or don't understand I will become involved if I have to. We are straight shooters and feel you deserve it. You don't get that promise from some mass merchant.
