Alden, N.Y. (WBEN) - As of Wednesday, Sept. 13, gun retailers and owners in New York State will not only have to go through background checks for guns, but for ammunition and through a new process.
Instead of going through the FBI's free National Instant Criminal Background Check, background checks will now have to go through the New York State police, a policy gun enthusiasts believe is creating an unnecessary middleman.
"My understanding of their firearm system is, they're still using the federal system with with a middleman. We used to do background checks with the FBI, and it was free. Now, it's $9 per background check. I don't know if the state is doing anything additional on top of it." says Dean Adamski, owner of DD's Ranch gun shop in Alden.
It's $9 for every background check for guns, antique or otherwise. Every ammo purchase is now an additional $2.50 for every background check.
Adamski ran a background check through the new system today on himself, who holds two federal firearms licenses and four state licenses.
"I was delayed to purchase ammo. So is it gonna cause delays? I'm gonna assume it is."
Adamski says they have received no information from the state and have only received emails via the FBI, who claims they will now be required to use the state's system. Adamski has concerns with the questions they are asking in the new background check. He describes it as being "very, very invasive."
"People are not going to be happy with the type of questions that they're asking for, they're asking for aliases and occupation, your address. You cannot do a background check unless you give them your email address and phone number. I mean, they're compiling all this information for what? I don't understand. I mean, it can't be good."