Dear John, Since the judge's injunction in our NFA case took effect, gun shops around the country have been transferring suppressors on a 4473 and nothing else. No Form 4. No registry entry. A lot of those dealers have been holding their breath waiting to find out what ATF would do about it. Now we have an early answer. ATF inspectors went into four of those shops, looked at the 4473-only suppressor transfers, and wrote up zero violations. Look at what AmmoLand is reporting: |
Lets dive into why this matters. The inspectors did not treat the transfers as violations. It's one thing for a judge to say ATF cannot enforce registration, but it's another for ATF's own inspectors to walk into a shop, review the paperwork, and walk back out without a citation.
Here is the part every gun shop owner needs to read twice.
The injunction protects the plaintiffs, the members of the plaintiff organizations, and the customers of the plaintiff companies.
GOA is a plaintiff and our members are covered. That is the entire difference between a clean inspection and a very bad afternoon.
We also don't want to oversell this news:
This was reported by sources inside the industry, not announced by ATF. We cannot tell you it is official policy, because ATF has not said it is. We asked for written guidance for our members weeks ago and still have not received it.
If you are an FFL, we also cannot tell you how any of this applies to your shop or your situation in your particular state. If you are not covered by the injunction, none of this protects you, and an inspector in your district is under no obligation to reach the same conclusion. Moreover, the order does not touch state law.
If you have questions about your own exposure, ask a lawyer in your state before you change how you do business.
If you are not an FFL, forward this to yours. The shop you buy from is trying to figure this out right now with almost nothing to go on.
We will keep pressing ATF for real guidance, and you will hear it from us the day we get it. |
