Posted on 08/23/2013 3:30:34 PM PDT by servo1969
The Obama administration is working to close a loophole in the nation’s gun laws that allows for some machine guns and sawed-off shotguns to be sold without the buyer submitting fingerprints or photographs.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is working on a new regulation that would require more background information when the weapons are sold to someone through a corporation or legal trust.
That would eliminate a discrepancy between sales to individuals and those to legal entities, including so-called “gun trusts,” which firearms enthusiasts have used to acquire the weapons without going through normal channels.
On Tuesday, the ATF sent the proposed regulation to the White House for a 90-day review, a final step before the draft rule is unveiled to the public.
Normally, when an individual buys a machine gun or short-barreled shotgun, they have to submit their fingerprints and picture to the ATF, and the local chief law enforcement officer has to assert that there is no reason to believe it would be illegal for the buyer to own the gun.
However, those same requirements don’t apply when the gun is bought in the name of a corporation or legal trust instead of an individual person.
It is illegal in the United States for civilians to purchase machine guns made after 1986.
The trusts can be formed relatively easily by a lawyer and cost a few hundred dollars. Aside from the ease of securing restricted weapons, they also assure that gun owners’ firearms will be transferred to their loved ones when they die without going through bureaucratic channels.
A spokesman with the ATF declined to detail the measures of the new proposal, since it is still in draft form.
However, an online notice said that it will require “responsible persons” designated by the legal trusts to submit forms, photographs and fingerprints to the ATF and forwarded to the local chief police officer. The rule will also define the term “responsible person.”
The new rule will only apply to sale of machine guns, silencers and similar firearms for which the AFT has special restrictions.
According to reports, the number of applications to transfer restricted guns to trusts has skyrocketed in the recent years, to more than 39,000 last year.
In the wake of Republican opposition to gun control measures in Congress, the Obama administration has had little recourse but to target guns through executive action.
Obama had pushed congressional action in response to December’s shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., but Senate Republicans halted a measure to expand background checks, effectively killing chances of new legislation.
Would love to see the number of guns involved in crimes due to this “loophole”. My guess is ZERO.
Well, they are thorough. But, as a more or less normal gun owner, I have to admit I didn’t even know what a “gun trust” was, and had to look it up.
“....to fundamentally change the United States”
Just what we need - more laws. Like laws preventing 16 yr olds from buying guns and shooting Australian atleletes
They should have considered that somewhere down the line a megolamanical tyrant would occupy the White House.
Oh wait! They did.
But now the legislature they created to protect us is perfectly happy to relinquish their power to a whining, resentful, homosexual despot who uses the Constitution to wipe his boyfriend's butt.
Fine, but permit any unregistered machine gun to be registered through the new process. Let’s get those illegal machine guns off the streets, and into the hands of lawful background-checked gun owners!
No, the real reason for these trusts is the local police chief refuses to clear it, without just cause.
Gun trusts are a way to circumvent county Sheriffs who don’t want to sign NFA paperwork. In my county, the Sheriff’s office will not sign NFA papers, so a trust is the only way a person can own NFA items here, mostly short-barreled rifles and suppressors.
Meanwhile in Congress: ...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
No problem in most states.It’s a long approval process,but there are thousands and thousands of class 3 weapons out there-legally owned.
Get a writ of mandamus(spelling?)againt the Sheriff if the transfer is legal in your state.Then he is compelled to sign or risk contempt of court charges or being removed from his position asSheriff.
Being as they won't, the question is at what point to do you/we finally stand up and make them leave us alone?
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
The Sheriff is currently a she and Bexar County (San Antonio) is notorious for not signing nfa docs. My few friends that have nfa items have all done it through a trust for that reason.
No problem in most states.It’s a long approval process,but there are thousands and thousands of class 3 weapons out there-legally owned.
As the generations pass, those tolerably modern guns will become more and more obsolete compared to the millions of machine guns carried by the standing army of military, law enforcement, and regulatory agencies.
These are the arms most clearly protected by the second amendment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
