Top 10 ATF Public Safety Violations

ATF Compliance Inspection Avoiding Public Safety Violations

First installment in a series dealing with the violations most commonly cited by ATF and considered to affect the public safety.

When is the ATF Form 4473 required?

The ATF Form 4473 must be obtained by an FFL prior to transferring a firearm to a non-licensee except when returning that firearm or a replacement to the same person from which it was received after a repair or a customization was performed.

Inexperienced FFLs erroneously fail to execute the ATF Form 4473 for a number of different reasons. However, repeated violations of the type affecting the public safety determined to be "willful" will be sufficient cause for revocation of the license.

The article list some reasons for this failure and the steps FFLs can take to avoid this violation.

http://www.fflconsultinggroup.com/atf-compliance-inspection-top-10-atf-public-safety-violations-atf-form-4473-atf-license-revocation-criteria/

JR Valdes

Can ATF remove or copy records of firearms purchases from FFLs?

Published a new article on ATFs right to remove and copy firearms transfer records from FFLs.  

Under certain circumstances, ATF Officers can copy or remove records from FFLs that contain information about purchasers of firearms.  Concerns have been raised regarding the propriety of this action, as some believe that ATF is keeping a permanent record of persons who purchase firearms in the United States. 

The article explains ATFs policy, the law and regulations pertaining, and links to documents from ATF responding the the concerns of U.S. representative Don Young about alleged improper seizing of records by ATF.  The response from ATF addresses the issue of keeping permanent records as well.

See the article here.

http://www.fflconsultinggroup.com/firearms-record-books-atf-form-4473-and-atfs-authority-to-copy-records/

JR Valdes

Personal Gun Log Private Gun Collections ATF Compliance Inspections

Protecting Your Firearms Business

A personal gun log of private gun collections is your best protection against confusing inventory during ATF compliance inspections.

Protecting your firearms business from unnecessary entanglements with ATF and other regulatory authorities should be a high priority for you as an FFL. Failure to comply with federal regulations, especially those deemed to be public safety violations will begin to create a record of administrative action taken against your business, and may cause ATF to visit you more frequently than if your inspections reveal no violations.

One common record keeping violation occurs when ATF Investigators find firearms within a business premises that are not properly logged in the A&D record because they are part of a "personal collection", but not adequately identified as such.  ATF will always assume that firearms are part of a business inventory unless they are segregated or appropriately tagged.

This article addresses this issue; giving some reasons for taking specific action, and detailing the action to take.
http://www.fflconsultinggroup.com/personal-gun-log-private-gun-collections-atf-compliance-inspections/

JR Valdes
Copyright 2014 Firearms Licensing And Consulting Group, LLC



        

Broadened definition of "Adjudicated as a mental defective" and "Committed to a mental institution"

DOJ/ATF Notice of Proposed Rulemaking comment period ending

The proposed rule changes the language in 27 CFR 478.11 to more clearly define the statutory term "adjudicated as a mental defective".  The summary indicates that the Justice Department "recognizes that the term is outdated", but cannot be amended by regulation. Justice proposes amending the definition to clarify the term and seeks public comment.

In essence, the NPRM indicates a proposal to broaden the meaning of terms and cites the intent of Congress to broadly apply the prohibition of receipt and possession of firearms to "mentally unstable" or "irresponsible persons".  

Among other changes, The Department of Justice proposal would amend the definition of "committed to a mental institution" to include both "inpatient and outpatient treatment".  

DOJ Press Release

The NPRM can be viewed at federalregister.gov

Comments must be submitted on or before April 7th, 2014.

JR Valdes
FFLConsultingGroup.com
research@fflconsultinggroup.com

NSSF reports on the thriving U.S. Firearms Industry

NSSF Firearms Economic Impact 2013

Citing data from research firm John Dunham and Associates, the NSSF published the 2013 Economic Impact Report on their website. According the report, companies that "manufacture, distribute and sell firearms, ammunition and hunting equipment employ nearly 112,000 people" directly and generate just under 134,000 additional jobs in "supplier and ancillary industries". According to the report, that's an over 48% increase since 2008.

Firearms industry direct economic impact

The firearms industry's direct economic impact is cited as nearly $37.7 billion in calendar year 2013. Federal and state taxes paid by the industry amount to just over $5.2 billion for the same period.  The state of California leads the way in direct employment, with over 9,400 industry jobs followed by Texas (8,496) and Florida (6,233). The report states "...these are good jobs, paying an average of $47,709 in wages and benefits (their source: Bureau of Labor Statistics).

The report is posted at the NSSF website and can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF document.

JR Valdes