Gun Sales Resume After FBI Fix

The FBI has fixed an internal software problem that halted gun sales nationwide for more than two days, an official said Sunday.

The repairs allowed resumption of firearms sales that are dependent on background checks with the bureau’s criminal history database. The system began operating again at 7:30 a.m. EDT, said FBI spokesman Steve Fisher.

The FBI’s Interstate Identification Index, a database containing criminal histories of 36 million people, stopped working late Thursday afternoon.

The computer failure at the FBI Criminal Information Center in Clarksburg, W. Va., halted gun sales because it prevented completion of background checks that the Brady law requires for buyers.

Gun dealers had hoped for a quick fix because Saturday is their busiest day. However, the system remain down throughout the day.

Without background check approvals, gun dealers were forced to tell their customers to wait for their guns until the system was repaired and the checks could be completed.

The computer failure made it impossible for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to check criminal histories for felony convictions that bar people from buying guns. Also brought down was the FBI’s automated fingerprint system.

When the background check system is working, 72% of gun purchases are approved within 30 seconds, the Justice Department says. And 95% of buyers get an approval or a disapproval within two hours of their purchase application.