I understand that. I always ere on the side of caution with most things in life, mostly because the pros are hardly ever worth the possible cons, IMO. Speeding is not worth the possible ticket, etc.
I'm not sure what exactly goes into the BGC, as you said, but someone is to blame here (beyond the shooter) for letting this guy have the guns. Depending on what the gun store clerk/owner saw when he ran the check, he could very well have some blame in my book. No, he's not responsible for the deaths, per se, as the shooter would have gone to yet ANOTHER store to try to purchase the firearms, but still. That CAN'T sit well on his conscious, and there could definitely be a slew of lawsuits there.
If the BGC simply said "proceed" on the clerk's computer screen, the clerk is cleared. Even if the FBI watch list had the guy listed and it did not show up for whatever reason on the BGC, that's not the clerk's fault. That's the fault of the BGC System, or the FBI, as you stated.
But I'm sorry, if I worked at a gun store and the BGC said anything possibly hinting towards the guy being under FBI watch, I'd deny him service. Regardless of how easy it is to get into the 'Watch List'. I would not want that on my conscious, and I would be well within my legal right to deny service. Especially due to possible lawsuit by potential victim's families, etc.
He's not REQUIRED to deny service, based on this list you posted, but he's completely legally allowed to. I would think 'Play it Safe' would be Rule #1 on the Employee Handbook at a gun shop.
It's the same as a clerk at a grocery store. He is allowed to deny service for whatever reason he wants. There are usually store regulations that state he can't say WHY he's denying service (due to frivolous lawsuits) but he's allowed to use his better judgement and simply say, "I'm sorry, but under store regulations, I cannot sell you X".
The store does not want a lawsuit on their hands if the clerk sells someone liquor and that guy later goes out and causes a drunk driving wreck, or something to this effect. The clerk is required to be vigilant and make basic yes/no decisions. If a 16 year old checker is required to have some balls, you'd think that'd be a job requirement to work at a gun store.
