I get this question from many different people. Do I have to register my gun?
When you buy a gun at a store you will have to pass a background check and fill out a Form 4473.
A Firearms Transaction Record, or ATF Form 4473, is a seven-page form prescribed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) required in the U.S. to be completed when a person purchases a firearm from a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder, such as a gun dealer.
Form 4473 contains the purchaser's name, address, date of birth, government-issued photo ID, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background check transaction number, and a short affidavit stating that the purchaser is eligible to purchase firearms under federal law. It also contains the make, model, or serial numbering the firearm. Lying on the form is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison in addition to fines, even if the transaction is denied by the NICS. Prosecutions are rare in the absence of a felony committed with the gun purchased.
If a person purchases a firearm from a private individual who is not an FFL licensed dealer, the purchaser is not required in most states to complete a Form 4473. Some states (such as California, Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington) require individual sellers to sell through dealers.
These forms are given the same status as a tax return under the Privacy Act of 1974 and cannot be disclosed by the government to private parties or other government officials except in accordance with the Privacy Act. Individual dealers possessing a copy of the form are not subject to the Privacy Act's restrictions on disclosure. Formerly, dealers were required to maintain completed forms for 20 years in the case of completed sales, and for 5 years where the sale was disapproved as a result of the NICS check. Beginning in August 2022, dealers were required to keep completed forms indefinitely, with the option of sending forms over 20 years into the ATF.
In most states selling a firearm from one person to another requires no paperwork whatsoever.
But to protect myself, and the person I am buying from or selling to, I require a bill of sale.
The bill of sale I use has statements about neither buyer nor seller not being felons. It has places for name, address, phone number, and driver's license number for identification. The date is important to me. Because if the gun ends up being used in a crime after the date I sold it, I have proof that I was not the owner. And vice versa.
Picture this, you are watching a great episode of "Law and Order," and they recover a firearm from a crime scene and type the serial number into a computer and up comes the name and the address of the person who is registered to that gun right? Wrong!
Generally speaking, for the majority of American gun owners there is no system, database, or registry that ties us to any of our firearms. Even the Brady Act that created the background check system requires that the records of each background check be destroyed within 24 hours.
The Firearm Owners' Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA) is a United States federal law that revised many provisions of the Gun Control Act of 1968. As such, FOPA makes it illegal for the national government or any state in the country to keep any sort of database or registry that ties firearms directly to their owner. The exact wording of the provision is as follows:
No such rule or regulation prescribed [by the Attorney General] after the date of the enactment of the Firearms Owners Protection Act may require that records required to be maintained under this chapter or any portion of the contents of such records, be recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof, nor that any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or disposition be established. Nothing in this section expands or restricts the Secretary's authority to inquire into the disposition of any firearm in the course of a criminal investigation.
A few things here are worth noting. First notice the use of the word “after” in the first sentence. Any law that existed prior to the passing of FOPA, that required guns to be registered, can still exist and be legally enforced.
Second, don't forget that just because the law says something is illegal doesn't mean it isn't being done or that there is any sort of a loophole. In New York City for example, the NYPD has a record of the manufacturer, model, serial number and caliber of every firearm (handgun and long arms too). You need to have a registration certificate on your person for every long arm in addition to needing a “Permit to Possess Rifles or Shotguns In New York City” (which are limited to 5 rounds among other restrictions). Other municipalities also have a track record of ignoring the Federal Firearm Owner's Protection Act.
Local Jurisdictions that Register Guns:
States that Require Registration of All Firearms
District of Columbia and Hawaii
States that Require Registration of Handguns
New York
States that Require New Residents to Report Their Firearms
California and Maryland (handguns and “assault weapons”)
States that Require Registration of Pre-Ban “Assault Weapons” and/or 50 Caliber Rifles
California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York
Despite FOPA There Are Some Limited Government Gun Databases
In addition to the local authorities who may disregard the local law we also know that the ATF keeps at least 5 databases of specific firearms and their owners to include:
1. Multiple Sale Reports. Over 460,000 (as of 2003) Multiple Sales reports (ATF F 3310.4 – a registration record with specific firearms and owner name and address – increasing by about 140,000 per year). Reported as 4.2 million records in 2010.
2. Suspect Guns. All guns suspected of being used for criminal purposes but not recovered by law enforcement. This database includes (ATF's own examples), individuals purchasing large quantities of firearms, and dealers with improper record keeping. May include guns observed by law enforcement in an estate, or at a gun show, or elsewhere. Reported as 34,807 in 2010.
3. Traced Guns. Over 4 million detail records from all traces since inception. This is a registration record which includes the personal information of the first retail purchaser, along with the identity of the selling dealer.
4. Out of Business Records. Data is manually collected from paper Out-of-Business records (or input from computer records) and entered into the trace system by ATF. These are registration records which include name and address, make, model, serial and caliber of the firearm(s), as well as data from the 4473 form – in digital or image format. In March 2010, ATF reported receiving several hundred million records since 1968.
5. Theft Guns. Firearms reported as stolen to ATF. It contained 330,000 records in 2010. Contains only thefts from licensed dealers and interstate carriers (optional). Does not have an interface to the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) theft database, where the majority of stolen, lost and missing firearms are reported.
It is also worth noting that notwithstanding FOPA, the National Firearms Act which was enacted in 1934 does require that certain types of firearms be registered. This includes firearms not commonly owned or acquired by average gun owners including fully automatic firearms and short barrel rifles and shotguns. Any firearm not specifically mentioned in Title II of the NFA however should not by Federal law be part of any registry tied to a gun owner.
Laws are being ignored and broken when it comes to this registry. The struggle for freedom will continue. Law enforcement tries to make their lives easier by having a registry to find guns used in crimes. Politicians want to control guns or better yet, people. Stay apprised of these changing laws to keep your privacy and to uphold the Constitution. Write to your elected officials voicing your desires for this privacy. Keep registries out of our country!
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
No comments:
Post a Comment