A waiting period is the period of time between when an action is requested or mandated and when it occurs. In the United States, the term is commonly used in reference to

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and marriage licences, as some U.S. states require a person to wait for a set number of days after buying or reserving a

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

from a dealer before actually taking

possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

of it, a woman waiting for an

and individuals making applications on marriage licences. Waiting periods are also used for new

insurance policies In insurance, the insurance policy is a contract (generally a standard form contract) between the insurer and the policyholder, which determines the claims which the insurer is legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial payment, known as ...

, particularly

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

, and also flood insurance. Incidents which occur during this time are not claimable. The term may also refer to the time between the making of a claim and the payment of it, also called the elimination period. In

business finance Corporate finance is the area of finance that deals with the sources of funding, the capital structure of corporations, the actions that managers take to increase the value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analysis used to allo ...

, a waiting period or

quiet period In United States securities law, a quiet period is a period of time in which companies refrain from communicating with investors to avoid unfairly disclosing material, non-public information to certain investors when the company has not yet publicly ...

is the time in which a company making an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

(IPO) must be silent about it, so as not to inflate the value of the stock artificially. It is also called the cooling-off period. Other things potentially subject to waiting periods include

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

access for women, and

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

proceedings.

For firearms purchases

A waiting period between purchase and handover of a firearm allows can have several purposes: * Give the government time to perform a background check. Modern electronic systems such as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System can produce an answer within a few minutes. * Force a "cooling off" period for any potential buyer who may wish to commit a

crime of passion A crime of passion (French: ''crime passionnel''), in popular usage, refers to a violent crime, especially homicide, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as anger rather than as a premed ...

. * Allow someone contemplating

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

to reconsider their choice. Attempts at suicide by firearm have a higher success rate than most other methods, due to the fast and reliable lethality of carefully placed gunshots. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' points to research collected by the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

and various papers expressing a scientific assessment that: * There is not enough reliable evidence to conclude whether or not a "cooling-off period" reduces homicides * Evidence indicates that waiting periods reduce the suicide rate, and that people who buy firearms are more likely than the general population to commit suicide (presumably because some are buying them for that purpose) As of 2015, ten U.S. states and equivalents have mandatory waiting periods, from 1 to 14 days: California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, and Rhode Island for all guns; and Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, and New Jersey for handguns only. A 2018 suicide prompted the Vermont legislature to pass a waiting period bill, but it was vetoed by governor Phil Scott in June, 2019. For all firearms Massachusetts, Connecticut and Illinois, and for handguns Nebraska, New York, and North Carolina require purchase permits, which may amount to a de facto waiting period if they are not issued immediately.Handgun Waiting Periods Prevent Hundreds Of Homicides Each Year
/ref>

References

{{reflist, 30em Lawsuits Time in government Time management Gun politics in the United States https://www.ispfsb.com/Public/FOID.aspx

For firearms purchases

See also

References