I am a member of the National Rifle Association and an executive committee member for the National Shooting Sports Foundation s range development program. In addition to the NRA and National Shooting Sports Foundation, I am a spokesperson for Second Amendment Sisters. Through my business and volunteer contacts, I do keep in touch with dealers not only in my area but in all parts of the country. From personal experience in running my business and in the contacts I have in other locations, I can truthfully say, I understand the serious frustrations licensed dealers and law-abiding citizens are feeling about the NICS program. Delays, outages, and recorded messages have a very negative impact on the process of doing business.
Customers know the system is supposed to be instant and can t understand why they get delayed.
I don t want to include any information regarding denied transactions because we have only seen one denied transaction since NICS has been in operation. If we are a typical dealer then numbers on attempted transfers to felons are being terribly inflated. Outages shut down the legal commerce my business is licensed to do. Customer service is very important to us and we look incompetent when the federal system does not work the way it was intended. It is not uncommon for a customer to cancel the purchase and leave.