• Mossberg Owners is in the process of upgrading the software. Please bear with us while we transition to the new look and new upgraded software.

ATF: Pistol Brace Amnesty Registration Program

Scoop

Scoop

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/09/atf-pistol-brace-amnesty-registration-program/#ixzz7eETuo4PC
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Follow us: @Ammoland on Twitter | Ammoland on FacebookATF Requests Funding for Pistol Brace Amnesty Registration Program

Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/09/atf-pistol-brace-amnesty-registration-program/#ixzz7eEUIkDRS

Washington, DC – -(AmmoLand.com)- AmmoLand News has uncovered information showing that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is planning to force gun owners to register firearms with pistol braces as a National Firearms Act (NFA) ATF Form 1 item.

The document (embedded below) was uncovered in a budget justification from the ATF to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This form confirms the leaked information AmmoLand News has heard for months from our inside sources at the ATF.

The document reads: Due to the upcoming Amnesty Registration of Pistol Brace weapons, photos of the weapon being registered will be required to prove the weapon does utilize a pistol brace in its configuration and would qualify for an amnesty registration.

Pistol Brace Amnesty/Registration
Our ATF inside sources have told AmmoLand News that the ATF was planning for an amnesty period where gun owners would be able to register their braced pistols as short-barreled rifles (SBR) and that it is expected they will receive a free tax stamp. The ATF charges $200 per SBR. Currently, there are at least four million braced pistols in the United States.

The ATF posted the proposed pistol brace rules to the Federal Register late last year for public comment. Over 250,000 comments were submitted, with most comments being against any new regulations. The gun community let their voices be heard, and the ATF ignored them.
...
According to this document, owners of braced pistols would have to submit photos of their firearms to the ATF to prove that they qualify for “amnesty registration.”
The ATF has issued multiple letters stating that pistol stabilizing braces are legal to put on pistols, but this action would change agency’s course.

The White House ordered the ATF to redefine the definition of a firearm and change rules surrounding pistol stabilizing devices. The proposed rule covering frames and receivers was unveiled 30 days later, and the proposed rule for braced pistols was revealed 60 days later. The frames and receiver rule went into effect on August 24th after a 120-day grace period.

The final pistol stabilizing device rule has not been finalized. Based on this budget request and information from our sources, it seems to include a registry. The ATF recently implemented the eForms systems for some Form 1 NFA items. The new system automates a lot of the tedious work that ATF employees and the National Firearms Act (NFA) division used to do manually. It remains to be seen if the system can withstand millions of additional form submissions.

This influx of millions of new applications will also backlog any other forms submitted for processing. The ATF promised that the average time to process a Form 1 tax stamp application would be 90 days. The ATF is nowhere close to that number, with only 30% being processed in the promised time period. With millions of additional applications, the 90-day period seems to be a pipe dream.

The new rule is expected to be announced by December of this year.
 
I have read this, and I'm not certain how I feel about it.

I guess there would be two words that would very closely describe it.

hesitant.

conflicted.

For starters, I know there are many who are doing happy dances thinking they are going to get free tax stamp sbr/sbs out of it. But, I'm not entirely certain that is going to be the end of the story.

There have been two "amnesty" periods that I am aware of. None of them resulted in midnight raids or their dogs getting shot. But this is a little different.

1968 to allow veterans to claim their war trophy machineguns and register them.

1980's when the striker 12/street sweeper shotgun was reclassified as non-sporting destructive device. While we could argue whether that was legal until we're all blue in the face, I still don't know how I feel about reclassifying pistols as rifles.

I am certain that all the pistol brace stuff is going to be challenged in court though. Without going into detail, the atf doesn't have a leg to stand on. Even with chevron deference if they try to fall back on that because they have already said they were legal (*multiple times and with multiple companies and individual letters), now, they're wanting to classify them as NFA items due to political pressure. So, there is plenty of evidence showing that chevron deference could not pertain to this because they've already conflicted themselves multiple times. And that's not even taking into consideration the supreme court decision concerning WV vs EPA, which was absolutely correct.

But, for the sake of discussion, let's move forward.

Currently, according to atf numbers, there are around 8 million items in the NFA registry. Those numbers also include LEO agency machineguns and individual flash bangs and other things, etc. So, all of those numbers are not indicative of just civilian items.

The truth of the matter is, since braces have not been regulated because they are not nfa items and have been legal for more than a decade without government interference, it is clear that no one knows how many have been produced because no one has had to keep count. ATF estimates 5 to 7 million. Congressional studies estimate between 10 to 40 million.

So, this is where I get VERY conflicted and it feels more like a trick.

Remember, there are a little less than 8 million NFA items in the whole entire registry for nearly the last 100 years that it's been in existence.

All of a sudden, they want to increase the registry by perhaps up to 5 times what it has been since 1934 all in one month?

Average wait time for an nfa item varies. I have waited as low as 4 weeks at my best time, and have waited as long as more than an entire year+. It does depend on how many applications have been submitted.

Even if say only 3 million applications are submitted on top of current demand, that will be the equivalent of 6 decades worth of applications at once. You can rest assured that even if your application doesn't turn to dust before you get your approval, you may get your atf signature sometime before you die.

Or, maybe not. I don't have the kind of confidence in them under those conditions to not "lose" most of them applications due to a server error.

So, what good is that going to do anyone? Not really much in my opinion. This is why congress should get involved and put them in their place. But, I digress.

We all know the government is not going to be able to deal with that, but also opens up some big problems.

Let's just imagine that the eform site crashes (which it would undoubtedly do and does even on days with plenty of sunshine and mild temps), once you submit your fingerprints and photographs documenting that you have what they are now classifying as unregistered SBR's and SBS, there's no going back from that. I think this opens you up to legal jeopardy since amnesty generally means:

Amnesty
The action of a government by which all persons or certain groups of persons who have committed a criminal offense—usually of a political nature that threatens the sovereignty of the government (such as Sedition or treason)—are granted Immunity from prosecution.

Amnesty allows the government of a nation or state to "forget" criminal acts, usually before prosecution has occurred. Amnesty has traditionally been used as a political tool of compromise and reunion following a war. An act of amnesty is generally granted to a group of people who have committed crimes against the state, such as Treason, rebellion, or desertion from the military.
----------------

There is no amnesty to it. Braces are, and have been 100% legal, atf and tech branch has continually said so and there has been no criminal offense. But now, atf has changed the regulations which puts a lot of people at legal peril.

AGAIN!

So, while I would like to say "yeah, go for it, register every gun you own", I cannot do that with a straight face. I have multiple items in the nftr (registry). I am not inclined to add any more to that list. Nor, am I thinking that I would want to considering the political climate.

I can't help but think this is a trick with a runaround to get universal registration because almost everyone and their brother owns, or at one point has owned a gun with a pistol brace at some point.

And that's not even going into detail about some of the finer rules and regulations about nfa ownership. Like informing the atf of your current address at all times so they know where the gun is located. You know, just in case they want to come and get it. You move? You have to notify them.

And not being allowed to cross state lines with it without first notifying them of it on a particular form.

And here is a really big problem. When you die. While it is legal for the executor of your estate to obtain possession of the nfa items and distribute them to your heirs tax free.

But that is only IF your legal heir lives in a location where SBR's and SBS' and NFA in general are not prohibited by law where they live.

Or, if they're allowed to own them (21 or older--which is problematic for anyone under that age to get ownership so forget about giving your heirloom guns to your young grandkids). So, in situations such as those, guess who gets the gun.

Don't look now, but it ain't you or me (CCR reference). That's right, the gov gets it and likely destroys it if it can't be transferred to who you say you want to have it. I guess the executor could offer it to someone else, but I'm not sure how the judge would handle that.

What happens if at some point you, or your legal heir wants to sell it?

The buyer will have to pay the $200 nfa tax and hassle, or you have to make it into some title 1 configuration which may not always be as simple as it is right now with the way they keep chipping away at our rights and notify the nfa branch that you're removing it from the registry.

So, while I could go into more details, as I said, conflicted would be a pretty good word for how I feel about it. Let's just say I don't have the warm and fuzzies about it.
 
I do not have one of these "AR pistols" but I do have 2 fingers (one on each hand) for the Marxian Socialist pukes. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top