Bellevue pro-gun rights group threatens lawsuit against WSP over halted background checks

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A Bellevue-area pro-gun rights group threatens a lawsuit against the Washington State Patrol (WSP) because of a hold on background checks for gun sales.

According to a Tuesday press release from the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the group may take legal action against WSP because of “some type of network infiltration” at the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), which includes WSP’s enterprise data repository. The breach is impacting the system used to do background checks for gun purchases in the state. The network infiltration shut the system down for at least 10 days and counting.

Chris Loftis, a spokesperson with WSP, confirmed that the administrative office had a cyber breach and they aren’t able to provide the data repository that WSP relies on to complete background checks and allow a gun purchase. WSP looked at work-arounds to see if there was another way that they could get the same data, but they couldn’t.

“The state law is very specific about how this has to be done. Until the court system can fix the cyber issues that it’s experiencing, we’re just stymied,” Loftis said. “We’re just at a standstill and it’s frustrating for everyone.”

Several people are waiting for their gun background checks and guns, Loftis said.

“It’s frustrating for vendors who sell firearms and for our people who do background checks for a living. There’s a roadblock right now,” he said, metaphorically comparing the hold to a bridge closure. “When the bridge is out ... it’s out.”

Loftis said the agency sees between 400 to 1,000 background checks a day. In a given year, they see nearly 250,000 background checks. The average number per business day is 700𑁋we’ve been down since Nov. 2𑁋do the math to figure it out, he said.

No data is lost or corrupted as a result of the breach, Loftis said.

Alan Gottlieb, SAF founder and executive vice president, said this halt is simply unacceptable and the pro-gun rights group will not tolerate it.

“Washington state citizens have had their rights under the federal and state constitutions suspended, and we will take legal action if this isn’t solved immediately,” Gottlieb said.

Gottlieb also said that state law does not allow WSP to work around this sort of problem, which means that needs to change immediately.

“As the saying goes, ‘A right delayed is a right denied,’ and the state has denied untold numbers of citizens their right to obtain firearms for almost two weeks. This amounts to a mass deprivation of civil rights under the color of law,” Gottlieb said.

“The clock is ticking,” Gottlieb said. “When the system is restored, we expect the WSP to work day and night to expedite background checks already on hold. In the meantime, we are consulting with our attorneys to determine the proper course of action.”

Loftis said the WSP is a large organization and unfortunately, legal action is a common occurrence. There is a system in place that examines the merits of any case that’s brought against the agency. WSP is confident that the AOC will find the technical resolution.

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