Gun sales are currently on hold across the state following a hack of Washington’s online court system earlier this month.
On November 2nd, several branches of the state’s Judicial Information Systems, courts’ websites, and associated networks were taken offline because of “unauthorized activity.”
It’s impacting everything from business owners to constitutional rights. The freeze includes the online system used for firearm background checks, directly infringing on the Second Amendment.
Washington State Patrol hasn’t had access to the “Secure Automated Firearms E-Check system,” since November 1st.
That’s the outlet that oversees mandatory background checks for gun purchase and ownership. It also means the blackout has directly delayed and prevented the completion of thousands of firearm sales, statewide.
All of which infringes upon civil rights. And, has folks like Melissa Denny and her customers up in arms.
“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know they have to wait two weeks. So, when they find that out, they grumble,” says Denny, the owner of Pistol Annie’s Jewelry and Pawn in Bonney Lake.
“But, then when you tell them ‘Just joking, it’s whenever,’ they shoot the messenger,” she continued. “We take the brunt of the frustration.”
As for the hack, court officials don’t believe there was a major breach of personal information, saying, “There is no evidence that any court or personal data has been accessed, altered, or removed.”
The State Patrol’s Director of Communications, Chris Loftis, understands the issue. He’s urging patience as officials try to remedy the situation as quickly as possible.
“The people that are working on it know the seriousness of it. They know the interconnectivity we have in these systems,” Loftis asserts.
“They know that it impacts people, not just in this arena that we’re talking about… the firearms’ background checks. But, in many other arenas. And, in every one of those cases, it’s a citizen, a tax-paying citizen, who deserves our very best. And that’s what we’re trying to bring,” assures Loftis.
In the meantime, Washington State Patrol is still receiving anywhere from 400 to 1,000 background check requests daily. Roughly 700, on average.
That includes some from Denny, who’s still accepting applications despite the holdup. They just can’t be processed, as of right now.
For his part, Loftis expects systems to be back online and running again at some point next week.
In the meantime, several people are seemingly left helpless, their hands tied by hackers. And until the issue is resolved, the frustration continues to mount. Just like the waitlist.
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