Firearms Background Checks.

State law requires background checks for the sale or transfer of a firearm where either the purchaser or seller or the transferee or transferor is in Washington unless specifically exempted by state or federal law.  This requirement applies to all sales or transfers including sales and transfers through a licensed dealer, at gun shows, online, or between unlicensed individuals.  When neither party to a prospective firearms transaction is a licensed dealer, the parties must complete the transaction through a licensed dealer who must process the sale or transfer as if it is selling or transferring the firearm from its own inventory.

Washington State Patrol Firearms Background Check Program.

Pursuant to legislation enacted in 2020 the Washington State Patrol (WSP) created an automated firearms background check program to conduct background checks on applicants for the purchase or transfer of firearms.  Firearm dealers must use the WSP program to process all firearm background checks.  When the WSP receives a request from a dealer for a background check in connection with the sale or transfer of a firearm, the WSP must:

• conduct a check of appropriate federal and state databases or resources, and the check must include the: 
  • National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); 
  • Washington Crime Information Center and Washington State Identification System; 
  • Health Care Authority electronic database; 
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Data Exchange database and any available repository of statewide local law enforcement record management systems information; and
  • the Administrative Office of the Courts case management system;
• perform an equivalency analysis on criminal charges in foreign jurisdictions to determine if the applicant has been convicted of an out-of-state crime that would prohibit firearm ownership in Washington; and
• notify the dealer without delay if the records indicate the individual is approved or prohibited from possessing a firearm or whether more investigation is needed.

Involuntary Treatment Act Possession of Firearm National Instant Criminal Background Check System Database.

When a person is detained under the Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA) for 72 hours on the grounds the person presents a likelihood of serious harm, but not detained for an additional 14 days, that person loses their right to possess a firearm for six months after the date of detention.  The facility detaining the person must forward a copy of the person's identifying documents to the Department of Licensing and the WSP.  The WSP must then forward the document to the NICS.  The person's right to possess a firearm is automatically restored at the end of the six-month period and the WSP must forward notice that the person's right to possess a firearm has been restored to the NICS.

The amended bill clarifies:

• the definition of the Washington State Patrol Firearms Background Check Program;
• references to firearms by removing language that is included in the defined term;
• that a dealer must comply with the application, recordkeeping, and other requirements of the chapter that apply to the sale or transfer of a firearm when processing an application for the purchase or transfer of a firearm frame or receiver; and
• that the retention of application records for a denial of an attempted purchase or transfer applies to a firearm.

The amended bill makes corrections to correct multiple references to the Washington State Patrol Firearms Background Check Program.  The amended bill replaces a definition of "frame or receiver" that applied to background checks with the existing definition that applies to the entire chapter on firearms and dangerous weapons.  The conditional effective date of the act is replaced with an emergency clause that makes the bill have a prospective application.