Santa Will Be Packing Heat In Oregon This Year
If Black Friday is any indication, Santa's sleigh will be packing a lot of heat this year.
Oregon State Police report record background checks for firearm sales in the state on "Black Friday," the busiest Christmas shopping day of the year.
The OSP Firearms Instant Check System had its busiest day for firearm sales since the program was set up in 1996. The system provides checks to all federally licensed gun dealers in the state, providing backgrounds on people attempting to buy firearms.
FICS staff processed 2,198 background checks the Friday after Thanksgiving. The previous record number of single-day transactions was on Black Friday 2005, when there were 1,731 transactions.
FICS statistics for the Thanksgiving week and after:
Monday, Nov. 24: 514 transactions
Tuesday, Nov. 25: 551 transactions
Wednesday, Nov. 26: 708 transactions
Thursday, Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving holiday): Closed
Friday, Nov. 28: 2,198 transactions
Saturday, Nov. 29: 1,032 transactions
Sunday Nov. 30: 303 transactions
Monday, Dec. 1: 558 transactions
Tuesday, Dec. 2: 599 transactions
Wednesday, Dec. 3: 640 transactions
During the month of November, there was an average of 720 daily transactions, almost double the average of 437 transactions in November 2007. Between 1996 and 2007, FICS processed a total of 1,158,298 transactions.
Approximately 2 percent of all transaction requests are denied because the buyer is prohibited from owning a firearm. FICS background checks last year also helped recover 69 stolen guns and provided information that led to 85 arrests.
The system is funded with a fee of $10 per transaction.
The unit is also responsible for conducting background checks for private party sales at gun shows, and is responsible for processing stolen gun checks against the stolen weapons files in LEDS and NCIC for the dealers and any private citizen requesting this service. There is no fee for processing the stolen gun checks. To check a firearm against the stolen record files, call 1-800-432-5059.
