11:47 p.m. EST November 28, 2014 The FBI says Black Friday, a big day for gun sales, is expected to set a one-day record for firearms background checks.
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System was handling requests about as fast as squeezing off rounds from a semiautomatic rifle -- three per second, the agency told CNN. At that pace, the day's total would eclipse last year's 144,758.
The agency has 600 agents and contractors working 17-hour shifts near Bridgeport, W. Va., to process the reviews in three business days, which the law requires. Stores or dealers can submit a buyer's information by phone or secure web site. Most approvals happen quickly, but some require the FBI to check court, mental health or other records.
If the background check is not acted on by the time limit, the seller has the authority to complete the sale. Large weapons retailers, however, do not sell guns without FBI clearance.
About 2% of Friday's background checks won't be finished because of incomplete information, the agency estimated.
CNN notes the 10 disqualifying factors: "felony conviction, arrest warrant, documented drug problem, mental illness, undocumented immigration status, dishonorable military discharge, renunciation of U.S. citizenship, restraining order, history of domestic violence or indictment for any crime punishable by longer than one year of prison."
The Associated Press reports that "more gun gun sales than ever are slipping through" the background check system — 186,000 last year, a rate of 512 gun sales a day. It attributes this to states failing to "consistently provide thorough, real-time updates on criminal and mental histories to the FBI."
(CNN offers this caveat: "It's difficult to know exactly how many gun sales are authorized from that number because whether to make the sale is ultimately in the hands of the shop owner.")
AP also cites these figures: Nine guns for every 10 people. A death by firearm every 16 minutes. Mass shootings every few weeks.
"We have a perfect storm coming," FBI manager Kimberly Del Greco said.
