COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
OctOBER 2019 • 7
COVER STORY
Initiative 1639 impact
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
More than 83,000 background
checks were processed for Washing-
ton in June 2019, according to NICS
figures — more than double the usual
number — and the most in any single
month since March 2016.
The boom came weeks before Ini-
tiative 1639 took effect on July 1,
which raised the minimum age of pur-
chase of semi-automatic rifles from 18
to 21, increased background checks
and waiting periods, required buyers
to take safety compliance courses and
enacted new storage requirements for
all gun owners.
“I had a surge in sales in June, then
in July it fell 70 percent,” said Sandy’s
Gun N Ammo owner Dallas ‘Sandy’
Bennett. “It’s made it a lot harder for
small businesses. I’m working harder
now for less. The paperwork load has
doubled. I do it for an extra 2 to 3 hours
a day.”
Bennett said the waiting periods
— a minimum of 10 business days for
Washington residents and up to 60 for
non-residents — has had the biggest
impact on his business.
“It cut a third of my business,
because I can no longer sell to custom-
ers that live outside the area. The peo-
ple who would buy from me won’t buy
from me now because they would have
to come back in a minimum of two
weeks to pick the weapon up, because
of the delays that 1639 put in place.
There are some that take more than 30
days.”
Bennett said about 30 people are
currently waiting approval to pick up
firearms from his Long Beach store.
“Some are getting a little anxious
because the hunting season opens up
Saturday,” he said.
In order to avoid the wait, Bennett
said some customers are resorting to
LUKE WHIttAKER
Sandy’s Guns and Ammo owner Dallas ‘Sandy’ Bennett said increased background checks and waiting periods from Initiative 1639 has
resulted in fewer firearm sales for his business. “I had a surge in June, then it fell 70 percent,” he said.
buying rifles in Oregon.
“They can just go across the river
to Oregon and pick up a long gun,” he
said. Long guns are weapons including
rifles and shotguns, typically used in
hunting, in contrast to pistols that are
primarily for self-protection and target
shooting.
Meanwhile in Warrenton, North
Coast Shooter’s Supply owner Jeff
Live
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October 27, 2019
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Kelland noticed a bump in his typically
slower summer sales after Initiative
1639 took effect in Washington in July.
“There was a last-minute push in
Washington for sure, and obviously
some of that translated over to here
for people buying long guns, because
you can buy those out of state,” Kel-
land said.
No more ‘panic’
The election of President Barrack
Obama and fear of federal gun limita-
tions spurred sales in guns and ammu-
nition, eventually leading to a bur-
geoning demand for “black guns” and
an ammunition shortage from 2008
until 2013. “Black guns” are typically
rifles designed to look or perform like
tactical military weapons.