#FFL

The ATF published (yet another) new administrative rule that impacts many American gun owners. We previously covered the “engaged in the business” rule when it was proposed last year. The final version of that rule is now published, but it has already been stayed by a judge. Let’s look at what this rule says, and who it applies to.

It’s that time (yet again) when we need to dig into a newly proposed ATF Rule. This time their target is expanding the definition of “engaged in the business” of gun dealing. So might you be a gun dealer under this potential rule? Possibly.

The state of Florida is pretty well known for its fairly gun-friendly laws. While the American South, in general, can be considered somewhat of a very pro-gun area, the Sunshine State (or Gunshine State as I like to call it) has always ranked pretty highly in my head in terms of states that have less restrictive gun laws and also a place that has a pretty healthy pro-firearms market. However, today I learned that Florida actually ranks pretty low both in terms of the number of gun stores per capita, as well as the total number of gun sales per capita, at least according to research done through the efforts of the Small Arms Survey.

In the fall of 2021, FEDEX completely stopped all private party shipping of handguns which left customers with only a single entity to ship handguns with – UPS. For 2022, FedEx also announced that it wouldn’t be handling any shipping of firearms unless the shipping person bears an FFL. This is where ShipMyGun comes in. ShipMyGun.com aims to give customers a more affordable way to ship their firearms over the standard rates provided to people through normal UPS channels which can be quite expensive.

Silencer Shop, the largest suppressor distributor in the U.S., is launching the 4473 Cloud service for FFLs. Before your eyes glass over and you jump to your other daily news sources – for example:  live shark tracker, or naked yoga on YouTube (find it yourself) – anything that brings the firearms industry from the stone tablet age into the digital world is a great thing.

2020 was a year of record gun sales, and that trend appears to be continuing in 2021. Many of those guns were purchased by first-time gun owners. The gun industry tends to assume that their customers already know the ins and outs of the world of guns. In the interest of education, here are some pointers on gun store etiquette.

One day as you walk into your local gun store you see a Help Wanted sign. You’re struck with the idea of working a gun counter. What is it really like? Well, here is one man’s opinion based on his years at a local gun store. While keeping in mind that no one person’s experience is truly authoritative and that stores range from small shops to large corporations with a variety of company cultures, here is an unvarnished look at what it is like to work behind a gun counter.

If you are old enough to remember the Dot Com and Y2K boom and the resulting crash/bust, you’ll also remember dial-up internet and unforgivably slow websites. The meager beginnings of e-commerce was not pretty. Well, I have flashbacks to those days every time I log into the ATF eForms system to submit yet another Form 1. Not yesterday of course, because somehow the ATF’s internet is closed on Wednesdays. But, better days are ahead; our friends at Orchid Advisors have announced that they have seen a demonstration of the new ATF eForms Form 4 system that will be used to transfer NFA items from dealers to end users and entities.

A Texas man recently pleads guilty to unlicensed firearms dealing, the charge of which stemmed from assembling and selling a rifle to a man that later used the rifle in a mass shooting.  The rifle was purchased from the dealer three years prior to the fatal shooting of seven people in Odessa, Texas.  This case appears to answer at least one aspect of when a Federal Firearms License ( FFL) is required when selling guns, but where does the line stop?  What are some stop-gap measures gun lovers can take? Let’s explore.

Although I don’t have a Federal Firearms License (FFL), I thoroughly appreciate the industry information and analysis from the professionals at Orchid Advisors. Already providing a suite of solutions to help FFL’s take care of business, Orchid Advisors and our friends at Silencer Shop are announcing a partnership to help clients in the industry manage everything from inventory management to retail sales solutions. Additional details can be found below.

Our friends at the National Shooting Sports Foundation have just announced that a new Form 4473 is available for preorder. The Firearms Transaction Record, or Form 4473, is used by Federal Firearm Licensees to record the transfer of firearms between non-licensees (individuals) and includes biographical and background information of the recipient. The new Form 4473 includes seemingly benign changes including export warnings and information on those on military orders. Of note, though is the fact that the information on the firearm being transferred is now in Section A and must be completed before the transferee completes Section B. Available in late July the new form will be required starting November 1, 2020.

For firearms enthusiasts, having guns seized by law enforcement is a nightmare we’d rather not think about, but unfortunately, it has been a path some gun owners have had to walk.  Finding that personal property has been mistreated, neglected or outright damaged by law enforcement, is sadly a real possibility when it comes to seized guns.  In today’s case, we’ll detail a plaintiff’s claims that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE, or ATF) damaged his seized guns, lost parts and original boxes, and perhaps even used them on other raids.

About a year ago we reported on the possibility of easing the burden on Federal Firearms License (FFL) holders in terms of the International Trafficking of Arms (ITAR) regulatory requirements. ITAR for FFLs is inherently confusing: while dealers usually aren’t required to obtain an ITAR license, manufacturers can be subject to the regulations, even if they have no plans to export any products. For a small FFL manufacturer who mainly engages in gunsmithing or builds a few guns, a $3,000 fee for not exporting a single item can cut into their bottom line.

Our friends at Orchid Advisors have just posted some proposed changes to the ATF 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record. The ATF 4473 is the form most commonly seen by consumers when purchasing and transferring firearms at a Federal Firearms License (FFL) Dealer and includes biographical information, criminal background questions and other information to determine if the buyer of a firearm is legally able to make the transfer. Among the proposed changes, the ATF is including a “Non-Binary” option under the transferee’s Sex question.

Our friends at Orchid Advisors just made us aware of a procedural change in firearms transfers in the state of Alabama. Alabama FFLs can no longer accept the state’s Concealed Carry Permit (CCP) as an exemption for a federal NICS check. Apparently, Alabama has not been collecting enough personal identifying information from non-resident applicants to conduct a federal Immigration Alien Query (IAQ) as required by law. In addition, CCPs may have been issued to individuals who have not passed a NICS check.